A legal statement issued on behalf of Bigg Boss 20 contestant Rhiti Tiwari and her mother, Pratima Pandey, has denied claims by a man identifying himself as Rhiti’s step-father and Pandey’s husband, describing the allegations as “false, baseless” and defamatory.
According to a public notice dated September 28, the individual identified as Ekam Bawa, also referred to as Parminder Kumar Bawa and Ekam Bains, has allegedly been publicly claiming that he is Rhiti Tiwari’s “step-father” and the legally wedded husband of Pratima Pandey.
The notice, issued on the instructions of Pandey and Rhiti, categorically rejects the claims and states that Bawa “holds no such legal status or relationship.”
It further alleges that statements, videos and social media posts made by Bawa concerning Rhiti, her mother and their family are false and defamatory and were intended to harm their reputation.
The notice states that “serious legal action, civil and criminal,” has been initiated against Bawa.
It also calls upon media houses, publishers, digital platforms and channels to immediately remove content carrying or repeating the alleged claims and publish the public notice in its place.
The notice further urges media organisations to seek documentary evidence and independently verify any claims concerning the family through the issuing office before publishing or broadcasting statements attributed to Bawa. It warns that republication of allegedly false and defamatory material could expose publishers to appropriate legal action.
The development came after Rhiti’s team on September 28 responded to alleged claims by Bawa concerning her family.
In a statement shared on Rhiti’s official Instagram Stories, her team described the claims as false and urged the media to verify information before reporting them. It also said that legal action had been initiated against Bawa.
“Rhiti is currently inside the Bigg Boss 20 house and can’t respond to these allegations herself,” the statement said, while appealing to the media to verify the claims and give the family an opportunity to respond.
The statement added that necessary legal action had been initiated against Bawa in connection with the allegations.