Indian court issues arrest warrants for Gere, Shetty

dpa German Press Agency Published: Thursday April 26, 2007

New Delhi- A local court in northern India Thursday issued
arrest warrants for actors Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty in
connection with their kissing at a public function in New Delhi, news
reports said.
The additional chief judicial magistrate of Jaipur city issued the
warrants while admitting a public interest litigation filed by a city
resident Poonam Chand Bhandari, PTI news agency reported.

Bhandari had filed the suit complaining that Shetty and Gere had
acted in an obscene manner in public.

The controversial incident took place during an AIDS awareness
campaign for truck drivers in the Indian capital on April 15. During
the event, Gere hugged Shetty tightly on the stage, bent her over and
kissed her repeatedly on the cheek.

Organizers later described it as an unplanned and harmless
song-and-dance spoof intended to entertain and show that kissing
alone does not spread AIDS.

But the episode led to protests by conservative Hindu nationalists
as well as Muslim groups in New Delhi, Mumbai and other cities who
said kissing in public was indecent and against Indian culture.

Shetty defended Gere, saying a harmless incident had been blown
out of proportion. She criticized television channels for repeatedly
broadcasting the incident and praised Gere for his dedication to
raising AIDS awareness in India and for his love for the country.

The actress had not received any court order or summons, her
spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar was quoted as saying by IANS news agency.

About media reports quoting a top ranking police official in
Jaipur saying that if proved guilty Gere and Shetty could spend up to
six years in jail, Dale said it was frivolous for an official to say
someone could get jailed for a peck on the cheek.

"If that is the case, more than half the country will have to be
jailed," he said.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency

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