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A local court in India on Friday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni for his controversial magazine cover posing as Lord Vishnu in 2013.
Dhoni, who is currently in Australia preparing for an upcoming T20 series, has been directed to appear in the Anantpur court in person on February 25, according to the International Business Times.
Indian court issues arrest warrant for MS Dhoni
The Indian skipper is accused of hurting Hindu sentiments in 2013 by posing on the magazine cover of Business Today as Lord Vishnu holding a number of things.
A case was registered against Dhoni under section 295 and 34 of the Indian penal code after a complaint was filed by social activist, Jayakumar Hiremath, against the cricketer for "denigrating" the Hindu God.
In August last year, the Karnataka High Court, after taking up the case, had observed, "A celebrity and a cricketer like Dhoni should know the consequences of hurting religious sentiments of people. He should have known the consequences of doing such ads."
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In his defence, Dhoni had said he did not pose as Lord Vishnu. "I haven't received any remuneration/goodwill or money for the news article or for usage of my picture on the cover page or anywhere else. Neither have I posed for the picture which was published in the magazine on April 14, 2013," the captain had said.
In September 2015, the Indian Supreme Court had stayed criminal proceedings against Dhoni in the same case where he was alleged to have deliberately hurt religious sentiments by posing as Lord Vishnu.
This article originally appeared on the International Business Times.
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