‘Verbal abuse’ at Dehradun event: Haryana women’s panel summons Masoom Sharma

Chandigarh: The Haryana State Commission for Women has issued a summons to Haryanavi singer Masoom Sharma over alleged verbal abuse during a college event in Dehradun, asking him to appear before it in Panchkula on April 18.Taking suo motu cognisance of a viral video of the performance, commission chairperson Renu Bhatia said the abusive language used on a public platform amounted to grave disrespect towards women.According to information, the incident occurred during a programme organised by a students' union at a college in Dehradun. While the event began smoothly, Sharma allegedly targeted an individual and hurled abuses from the stage, leaving students and staff embarrassed.Police in Dehradun also took note of the incident and reported the matter to senior officers. Video clips of the episode later went viral and reached the commission, prompting action.Speaking to mediapersons in Tohana on Sunday, Sharma did not respond directly to the summons but said he has "anger issues", which led to the outburst.The development comes close on the heels of a similar controversy involving rapper Badshah over lyrics of the song Tateeri, which had also drawn the commission's attention last month.