TikTok influencer Faizal Siddiqui's video was taken down by the Chinese video-sharing app on Monday for 'glorifying' acid attack on Monday after the National Commission for Women (NCW) chief Rekha Sharma wrote to the DGP of Maharashtra Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, demanding strict action against it.
NCW chief condemned the video of the digital content creator for "promoting the grievous crime of acid attack on social media."
The video clip of 9 seconds by Faisal was shared on twitter by a random user. The video has, since then, gone viral on social media. In the absurd TikTok video, he can be heard saying, “Usna tumhe chor diya jiska liya tumna Mujhe chora tha“. The loose translation goes as “Did the man, for whom you abandoned me, leave you?” Following the dialogue, he goes on to recreate a disturbing scene of an acid attack. The face of the victim is then seen covered in scars.
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga reached out to Rekha Sharma, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW). In a reply to his tweet, Sharma assured that she will take up the case with the police as well as TikTok regarding the dangerous precedent set by such videos.
Meanwhile, Faizal Siddiqui, who has over 13.4 million followers on TikTok, issued a statement on Instagram and said that his intention was not to hurt anyone in any capacity. "As a social media influencer, I realise my responsibility and apologise to anyone who was offended by the video," he wrote.
He also said that the first part of the clip in which he was seen drinking the water from glass was cut from the original video and was circulated on social media. "Acid kaun peeta hai," he wrote. He also shared the full video.
Watch video:
This is FAIZAL SIDDIQUI. Promoting acid attack through his Tik Tok account and they call themselves as Social Media influencer! #BanTiktok pic.twitter.com/113mE7rzme
— 🇮🇳 MAYANK CHAUDHARY 🇮🇳 (@IamMayank_) May 18, 2020