The Great Khali Issues Statement After Slapping Accusation

WWE Hall of Famer The Great Khali was the subject of controversy earlier this week. A video of an altercation between Khali, real name Dalip Singh Rana, and toll workers in Ludhiana, Punjab, India surfaced showcasing the former wrestler grabbing one of the worker’s arms. After that, a barricade was moved in front of Khali’s car to prevent him from leaving. “You were asked to show your ID card, show the ID card,” the toll worker told Khali (h/t The Tribune of India), to which Khali replied, “You are blackmailing me.” One worker responded to this, saying, “We are not blackmailing you. Why did you slap him? Show the ID card if you have it,” to which Khali noted he does not have one. While the worker accused Khali of “slapping” another worker, no slap was caught in the video.

Khali has since responded to the slapping accusation on his Instagram page, saying that the toll worker was actually asking him for a “selfie” and when Khali denied, he was met with “racist comments.”

“Hello Friends,” Khali writes in the post’s caption. “Yesterday while going to karnal, toll tax employee of Phillaur stopped my car and misbehaved for selfie. When I denied selfie, he ruthlessly passed racist comments also used bad words. That’s all I want to say. Thank you.”

Police say no one has filed a complaint about this incident at this time.

Khali has not wrestled for WWE since 2018, when he competed at The Greatest Royal Rumble show in the main event 50-man battle royal match. His stint in that bout would total less than one minute, as he was quickly eliminated by Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley. Before then, Khali’s most notable WWE appearance came at WWE Battleground in 2017, when he made a surprise appearance in the main event Punjabi Prison match between Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal. Khali would assist Mahal by stopping Orton from escaping the bamboo cage.

Since those sporadic appearances, Khali was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021. While Khali could not be present at the ceremony, he sent in a video message expressing his gratitude.

“I can’t even tell all of you how happy I am,” Khali said in his pre-recorded speech. “For some reason, I can’t be with all of you today, but all my fans are in my heart. So, thank you for supporting me, and take care of yourself.”