October 05, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 22, 1428

LUCKNOW, Oct 4: Bollywood film star Amitabh Bachchan has been asked to explain claims he made in an advertisement promoting an Indian state, a government official said on Thursday.

Bachchan had claimed in a series of print and television advertisements released during elections this year that the northern state of Uttar Pradesh — then ruled by a party the star has close ties with — has a low crime rate.

A resident now wants to know through the Right to Information Act the basis of Bachchan’s claim and how much and by whom he was paid for the series, the state’s chief information commissioner M.A Khan said.

“He has been asked to provide this information directly to the complainant and send a copy of the reply to us,” Khan said.

The previous government, which Bachchan campaigned for, had come under heavy fire for its crime record after the bones of at least 19 women and children were found in the New Delhi suburb of Noida, a part of Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh is reputed to be one of the country’s most crime-ridden states.—AFP