Indian vlogger Malik Swashbuckler has apologised for his offensive comments on Turkish women after the Turkish police intervened.
His comments created outrage at a time when India's relations with Turkiye are an all-time low after Turkiye decided to supply Pakistan with weapons during Operation Sindoor.
Malik posted a video last week while roaming through a market in Istanbul, asking shopkeepers why the Indian flag did not feature among the flags hoisted at the market.
In the video he asks one shopkeeper where the Indian flag is and when the shopkeeper shrugs and says no, Malik tells him he will bring an Indian flag on his next visit to Turkiye.
He then utters coarse language to a Turkish woman accompanying him.
The video created outrage among Turkish social media users who felt that Malik, a tourist in their country, had behaved improperly with the Turkish woman.
A report (external link) published on turkiyetoday.com (external link) on Sunday, May 31, stated that the Turkish police had detained Malik following complaints about the video.
However, the Web site did not quote the Turkish police in its report on Malik's detentipn. There has been no statement from the Turkish police either.
On Sunday, Malik deleted the offensive content on Turkiye from his Instagram channel.
He also posted a statement (external link) in Turkish, apologising for his inappropriate behaviour.
In the statement, Malik wrote, 'I apologise with all my heart. I never had the intention to hurt or offend anyone. If my words or actions hurt anyone, please know that it was completely unintentional. Knowing that I have hurt people really hurts me. I questioned myself and I promise to be more careful from now on. Respect and love.'
His status also included a message in Turkish: 'I am aware of my mistake -- I am sorry Turkey'.
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