On Saturday, the “God of cricket” Sachin Tendulkar lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Crime Branch against unidentified persons for using his name, images, and voice in advertisements without taking his consent.
The former cricketer’s name, photo, and voice were used in an online advertisement for a drug/medicine company to endorse its product line without his permission. Mumbai police registered an FIR under sections 426, 465, and 500 of the IPC on the basis of the complaint filed by Tendulkar and have initiated an investigation into the matter.
Maharashtra | Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar lodges a Police complaint at Mumbai Crime Branch, over his name, photo and voice being used in "fake advertisements" on the internet to dupe people. Case registered by Mumbai Police Cyber Cell against unidentified people under… pic.twitter.com/skkfDYa1eP
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2023
According to a statement issued by the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation’s management, there have been attempts to illegally imitate Sachin Tendulkar’s attributes in order to promote products and services not associated with him. It went on to state that this is done on purpose to mislead gullible people into purchasing unauthorized goods and services.
"…We have noticed that there have been attempts to impersonate Sachin Tendulkar's attributes in an unauthorized manner, for selling products and services not associated with him. These are being done with a deliberate and malicious intention of misleading gullible citizens to… https://t.co/gELqhh9aty pic.twitter.com/mgGg83XvXo
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2023
“…We have noticed that there have been attempts to impersonate Sachin Tendulkar’s attributes in an unauthorized manner, for selling products and services not associated with him. These are being done with a deliberate and malicious intention of misleading gullible citizens to buy unauthorized products and services online. We have lodged an official complaint with the Cyber Cell department and have highlighted these to social media platforms where such misleading advertisements are being broadcast..,” the statement from Sachin Tendulkar Foundation’s management team read.
Sachin Tendulkar tweeted about the same from his Twitter account and advised people to be careful about such fake advertisements. He also asked people to report such misleading and fake advertisements.
Access to trustworthy products is essential. Use the platform's reporting and blocking tools to keep our communities safe. Let's be proactive in creating a safer online environment. pic.twitter.com/JZR1FZTJtj
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) May 12, 2023
As per news reports, Sachin Tendulkar’s personal assistant was the one who found an advertisement for an oil company on Facebook, which used Tendulkar’s picture for its promotion and used his name to promote their product.
