India all-rounder Hardik Pandya issued a statement on Thursday (March 22) over the offensive tweet made from his parody account on Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the architect of India’s constitution. A special court in Jodhpur on Wednesday (March 21) directed the police to register an FIR against Pandya, but later it was found that the comment was never posted from his verified Twitter handle.

The tweet making insensitive remarks on Ambedkar came from a handle @sirhardik3777 whereas Pandya's official Twitter handle is @hardikpandya7.

In his statement, Hardik Pandya wrote: “There have been multiple misleading reports and articles being circulated in the media today, wherein it is being alleged that I had posted a tweet which was derogatory and insulting to the late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that no such tweet and/or statement, whether on twitter or any other form of media, has been issued by me. The tweet in question was posted by a fake account using my name and display image. I use only my verified twitter handle to make official communications via twitter and the said tweet was posted by a spurious account, pretending to be me.”

The 24-year-old all-rounder also made it clear he holds the utmost respect for Dr. Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution.

“I have the utmost respect for Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Indian Constitution and the many communities that call India their home and I would not indulge in making any kind of statement which is derogatory and/or which insults the sentiments of any community. I use social media to interact with my fans and I believe that in this age of social media one must be vigilant of misinformation and act responsibly,” Pandya’s statement further read.

“I will also be making the necessary submissions in the Hon'ble Court in order to establish that the said tweet cannot be attributed to me in any manner whatsoever and to further highlight the issue that the said tweet was posted by an imposter posing as me in order to tarnish my reputation, which is a menace faced by many well-known personalities across India today,” the statement concluded.

The distasteful tweet posted on 26th December last year from Pandya’s fake account read: “Which Ambedkar ??? The one who drafted a cross law and constitution or the one who spread the disease called reservation in the country.”

This had led Meghwal — who claims to be a member of the Rashtriya Bhim Sena in Rajasthan’s Jalore district — to move to the court against the cricketer on Tuesday (March 20).

Pandya was rested from the recently concluded Twenty-20 tri-series in Sri Lanka after a hectic 58-day long tour to South Africa. Hardik will represent the defending champions Mumbai Indians in the 11th edition of Indian Premier League, scheduled to start on April 7.