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What happened at the Wankhede: An eyewitness account

May 18, 2012 18:48 IST

A 14-year-old boy, who was with Shah Rukh Khan when the spat at the Wankhede stadium took place on Wednesday night, is horrified. He finds unacceptable the television footage about the event. He thinks most of it is bunkum.

Only when a Bollywood actor's daughter was pushed by 'rowdy' members of the Mumbai Cricket Association, the boy says, did Shah Rukh Khan lose his cool.

The teenage eyewitness alleges that these MCA members, who had an issue with the children, were drunk and upset because the Mumbai Indians had lost a decisive game to Shah Rukh's Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premiership League.

Sukhminder Lamba, the boy's father, told Rediff.com, "It is amazing to see the media devour Shah Rukh Khan for protecting the children. I am sure at some point in time every parent has gone through a similar situation and has been provoked and reacted to a greater degree. The boys were pushed around by the security men even though they were making their way back quietly."

Lamba says his son told him that Shah Rukh Khan reacted only when girl children were pushed and allegedly manhandled by MCA members.

The children, he says, were with Shah Rukh Khan from the time he entered the Wankhede till they left. Not once did Khan abuse a female spectator, as is claimed in the First Information Report filed by some MCA officials.

Lamba told Rediff.com, "After watching the allegations made by the MCA officials, these kids have realised that the human mind is the devil. The cooked up allegations by the MCA officials have taught these kids that lies are a way of life, that truth never wins in the face of absolute power."

"Will the MCA brutes have the gumption to say how Shah Rukh Khan was abused and provoked into reacting and the kind of language they used to start the fracas?" Lamba asked.

Importantly, the businessman, who knows Khan well, says repeatedly that "The abuses used by them, if ever revealed, will have hell breaking loose. Shah Rukh Khan has shown great maturity and understanding in keeping silent."

Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi