Hyderabad singer Ghazal Srinivas arrested for sexual harassment

Singer Kesiraju Srinivas was arrested in Hyderabad on Tuesday, 2 January, on charges of sexual harassment.

A case against the Telegu singer, also known as 'Ghazal Srinivas', was registered on 29 December following a complaint by a female radio jockey, who has alleged that Srinivas has been harassing her for the last nine months, according to a police official.

The singer, who holds the Guinness World Record for singing in most languages (76) at one concert, has denied the allegation and said he has never misbehaved with the woman.

Srinivas' multilingual talents earned him two more world records, one for singing 100 songs in 100 different languages in a 'Musical Tribute to Mahatma Gandhi' in 2008, and another for releasing 125 albums with 125 songs about Gandhi. The singer worked as a librarian at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bhimavaram, and Sainik School, Korakunda before pursuing a career in singing.

Srinivas was arrested and taken to Hyderabad's Punjagutta police station.