Kambli’s wife accuses Tiwari’s 59-year-old father of ‘deliberately brushing his hand’ against her. Ankur Tiwari says his father was punched after which he ‘blacked out’; Bangur Nagar police investigating the fracas
Sanyukta Iyer and Vijay Tagore (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 2, 2018)

Patrons at Inorbit Mall in Malad witnessed a massive ruckus on Sunday afternoon, when former India cricketer Vinod Kambli and his wife Andrea had an altercation with music composer Ankur Tiwari and his father. Ankur is the brother of Bollywood singer and music director Ankit Tiwari.

Kambli and Andrea have alleged that Tiwari’s father R K Tiwari deliberately brushed his hand against Andrea, even as the latter claimed the couple punched his 59-year-old father, and that Andrea took off her sandal to assault him.

The matter is being investigated by the Bangur Nagar police, but nobody was arrested till the time of going to press.

Mumbai Mirror spoke to Kambli, who insisted that “an old man inappropriately touched” his wife. “We were at the Game Zone in the mall around 3 pm when my wife caught hold of an old man’s hand. He had deliberately brushed his hand against her and when she caught him in the act, he pushed her away. Minutes later when we were at the food court, two men, who we assume were the man’s sons, tried to attack my wife. When I told them to back off, they told me, ‘You don’t know who we are’.”

Andrea told Mirror that she was certain the man had attempted to take “advantage of the crowds” to touch her “inappropriately”. “I was playing with my children when this guy took the opportunity to rub his hand against me. Maybe he thought nothing would happen because it was crowded. When I caught his hand, I was surprised to see this old man. He appeared embarrassed because I had caught him red-handed. He appeared scared, and said something in Hindi, on the lines that ‘I cannot do something like this’,” Andrea said. “The inappropriate touching ka zamaana is over. Such things should be dealt with strictly,” she added.

Kambli said he tweeted about the incident, after which an officer from Bandra Police Station visited his residence around 8 pm yesterday.

TIWARI’S ALLEGATIONS

Ankur Tiwari said he was at the mall with his parents, wife, and daughter. “My father, a retired bank employee, had accompanied my daughter to the Game Zone. My father told me he spotted Vinod Kambli there, and as he was walking past a woman, he blacked out,” Tiwari said.

“My father was disoriented after the attack,” Tiwari said, “He couldn’t believe he had been punched, and that a woman was screaming, accusing him of brushing his hand against her. I asked my father to identify the woman, and we realised she was Kambli’s wife.”

Rubbishing the Kamblis’s allegations that he tried to assault Andrea, Tiwari said, “I told them I wanted to speak with them, but they pushed me and hurled abuses. Kambli’s wife removed her sandal and threatened to hit me with it.”

He claimed that Kambli threatened the onlookers who had started recording the fracas on their phones. “He was abusing loudly, cursing everyone around. I asked him to speak to me politely, but he kept pushing me. His wife pushed me too. When I tried calling up the police, he snatched my phone. He even chased a woman to make sure she deleted the video recording from her phone,” Tiwari said, adding he and his father filed a complaint at Bangur Nagar Police Station around 4.30 pm.

Andrea admitted Kambli was “upset”, but according to her, it was because “nobody from the crowd tried to help”. “Vinod was upset because the onlookers were busy recording the incident. He was particularly upset with a lady who was doing the same. It was very annoying that they thought it was entertaining,” Andrea said. “When these guys were misbehaving with my wife, the onlookers were recording the incident,” Kambli said, adding it was a frightening experience for his children, Christiano and Johana.

Senior Inspector Vinay Bane from Bangur Nagar Police Station confirmed the Tiwaris had filed a complaint against Kambli and his wife.

“We are probing the matter, after which necessary action will be initiated. As of now, a non-cognisable offence has been registered.

Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; April 8, 2017)

They made their Kanga League debut together and broke into the Indian cricket team just a few years apart. Now, just a few days after Sachin Tendulkar unveiled his song, Sachin’s Cricket Wali Beat in association with Sonu Nigam, the Master Blaster’s childhood friend Vinod Kambli is set to launch his debut single, Asa Mee… Mee Asa.

While their friendship may have suffered a dent over the years, he claims, “I liked Sachin’s song, but it was only on cricket. My track, on the other hand, is all about my life.”

Kambli has rapped in Marathi and shot the music video across various locations in Mumbai. “Director Jainendra Baxi and Rahul (Seth, R& B singer-songwriter) approached me for the single. I had met Rahul at a function and he came up with the idea of doing something together. Jai’s idea was to include a Maharashtrian folk angle to the song.”

Kambli says he has covered all aspects of his life in the song. “The teaser is out and people have appreciated it. We are still working on the special effects and will release it sometime next week,” adds Kambli.

What about his look in the song? “Jai wanted me to look like a rapper. I have three looks in the single that go well with the peppy song. My children have already started dancing to the tunes.”

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; July 15, 2014)