Posting a picture of himself running on the beach in the nude has earned Indian actor and model, and keen sportsman, Milind Soman, a charge of public obscenity and sharing lewd images online.
The image of Soman sprinting naked down a Goa beach under the caption, ‘Happy birthday to me!’, attracted more than 147 000 likes and thousands of comments, according to the BBC.
But the Goa Suraksha Manch political party was not amused, and reported the matter to the police, saying Soman had tainted Goa’s image.
Police charged him on Friday with public obscenity and sharing lewd images online.
Sameer Khutwalker, president of Goa Suraksha Manch, accused Soman of using Goa ‘for cheap publicity and acted foolishly on a public beach’, adding: ‘When these things become public, people will imagine that “anything is possible in Goa”.’
However, Soman’s wife, Ankita Konwar, who took the photo, countered by saying the image ‘sends out a very positive message on body positivity and being free and happy with who you are’.