Katrina Kaif with Vicky KaushalKatrina Kaif with Vicky Kaushal

Manvendra Singh, a struggling actor has been arrested for sending death threats to Katrina Kaif and her husband Vicky Kaushal.

Manvendra is reportedly obsessed with Katrina Kaif.

Reports suggest he wanted to marry her and had been claiming to be her husband in his various delusional posts.

He has been arrested by police and sent to 2-day police custody by a Mumbai Court.

It has been alleged Manvendra had been sending death threats to both Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif. After receiving death threats, Vicky Kaushal contacted Mumbai police.

Manvendra was arrested by the Mumbai Police a day after Kaushal lodged a complaint with the police.

He was booked under Sections 354D (Stalking) and 506(II) (threat of grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

What Manvendra has been charged with – the law

IPC Section 354D. Stalking.

(1) Any man who–

(i) follows a woman and contacts, or attempts to contact such woman to foster personal interaction repeatedly despite a clear indication of disinterest by such woman; or

(ii) monitors the use by a woman of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication, commits the offence of stalking:

Provided that such conduct shall not amount to stalking if the man who pursued it proves that–

(i) it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime and the man accused of stalking had been entrusted with the responsibility of prevention and detection of crime by the State; or

(ii) it was pursued under any law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any law; or

(iii) in the particular circumstances such conduct was reasonable and justified.

(2) Whoever commits the offence of stalking shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine.

 Also read: Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal wedding on December 9

IPC Section 506. Punishment for criminal intimidation.

Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both;

If threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc.—and if the threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or 1 [imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both.

IT Act Section 67. Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

Whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form, any material which is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect is such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it, shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.

Given the fact that the law is clear when S354D IPC is read with S67 of IT Act, even if Manvendra is able to claim mental issues on S506(II) (Death or Grievous hurt), he is likely to face some time behind bars, unless of course Vicky and Katrina forgive him.

Manvendra had uploaded a video on July 13 wherein he threatened to murder Vicky Kaushal, after which Vicky Kaushal lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Police.

He was also allegedly stalking and harassing Katrina Kaif for the past few months on her social media accounts and posted morphed photos of himself with her on his Instagram account.

“We require custody to find out his motive for committing the offence and investigate any antecedents which the accused may have committed or was involved in,” the remand application said.

Representing Manvendra Singh, Advocate Sandeep Sherkhane opposed the remand claiming that the prosecution was portraying only a one-sided story.

“My client is a struggling actor. He is falsely implicated and made a scapegoat. The messages sent by Kaif and her sister are deleted from Instagram. One sided story is portrayed. They are from same industry and acquainted since 2019. Now suddenly these allegations are surfacing,” the lawyer argued.

While Katrina’s fan await the other side of the story, if there is one, the court sided with caution and granted police Manvendra’s custody.