BB 20: Rhiti Tiwari's family denies Ekam Bawa is her stepfather, issues legal notice

Manoj Tiwari’s daughter and Bigg Boss 20 contestant Rhiti Tiwari’s team has hit back at Punjabi singer Ekam Bawa over his public claims about her, and her family, denying that he is Rhiti’s stepfather or the legally wedded husband of her mother.

A public notice issued on behalf of Rhiti and her mother, Pratima Pandey, has called Bawa’s claims “false” and “baseless” and warned media organisations against publishing or republishing them without independent verification.

The legal notice, issued by Mumbai-based law firm on Monday states that Ekam Bawa, also known as Parminder Kumar Bawa and Ekam Bains has been publicly claiming that he is the “step-father” of Rhiti Tiwari and the legally wedded husband of Pratima Pandey. The notice categorically denies both claims, stating that Bawa “holds no such legal status or relationship”.

The notice further alleges that Bawa’s statements, videos and social media posts concerning Rhiti and her family are false and defamatory and were made with an intention to harm their reputation. It also states that “serious legal action, civil and criminal” has been initiated against him.

The legal action comes after Bawa posted a series of videos on social media in which he questioned Rhiti’s account of her financial circumstances and spoke at length about his alleged relationship with her family.

Rhiti had recently spoken inside the Bigg Boss 20 house about receiving between Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 a month from her father, actor-politician Manoj Tiwari. She also recalled having days when she survived on two Rs 10 vada pavs and spoke about growing up after her parents’ divorce. Bawa subsequently questioned those claims.

In an Instagram video, he pointed to what he alleged were Rhiti’s expensive handbags, luxury cars and properties, asking how those fitted with her account of receiving Rs 25,000 a month. He also went on to question Rhiti’s alleged business interests and properties in Mumbai. Bawa also spoke about his alleged wedding with her mother.

In another video shared more recently, Bawa made further allegations about his alleged experience with the family. He claimed that Rhiti and her mother had “tortured” him. Bawa also criticised Rhiti over her conduct inside the Bigg Boss house, particularly her heated confrontation with Qazi Touqeer following his fake medical emergency prank.

The latest notice has now asked media houses, publishers, platforms and channels to remove content carrying or repeating what the family describes as false claims. It specifically asks publishers to seek documentary proof from Bawa and independently verify any statements concerning Rhiti and her family with their representatives before publication or broadcast. The notice also warns that republication of the disputed material could make the publisher liable for legal action.

Rhiti remains inside the Bigg Boss 20 house and her team had earlier also urged the media to verify Bawa’s claims, saying that necessary legal action had been initiated against him.