Indian actor and model Milind Soman has been charged by police after he shared a naked picture of himself on Instagram.

Soman posted the image on Wednesday, showing him sprinting nude down a Goa beach, with the caption "Happy Birthday to me!". 

It attracted over 147,000 likes and thousands of comments.

But police were called to action following a complaint by political party Goa Suraksha Manch.

The party said Soman had indulged in public obscenity, and tainted Goa's image.

Actor and model Milind Soman charged over nude photo in Goa https://t.co/5iqFxGWJSs

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 7, 2020

Police charged him on Friday with public obscenity and sharing lewd images online.

In an interview with the Bombay Times, his wife Ankita Konwar, who took the photo, said it "sends out a very positive message on body positivity and being free and happy with who you are.

"I think anyone who accepts themselves for who they are has this incredible light and energy around them, and people start liking their presence," she added. "Milind's always been like that. Always himself."

Sameer Khutwalker, president of Goa Suraksha Manch, told the Indian Express newspaper he was happy Soman had been charged.

"He has used Goa for cheap publicity and acted foolishly on a public beach," said Mr Khutwalker.

"When these things become public, people will imagine that 'anything is possible in Goa," he added. "When will all this stop?"

It is the second time Soman has been booked for charges of obscenity. In 1995, he and model Madhu Sapre were charged for appearing nude in an advertising campaign, wearing only a pair of shoes and a python wrapped around them.

Earlier this year, Soman posted the picture on his social media, with the caption "What the reaction would have been if it had been released today…".

The latest charge also comes days after actor and model Poonam Pandey, and her husband, were arrested for allegedly trespassing on government property and shooting an "objectionable" video at a dam in Goa. The pair have since been released on bail.