Kolkata: The BJP on Sunday lodged police complaints seeking Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra’s arrest, alleging she displayed an obscene and offensive image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a student protest in Kolkata two days earlier.
According to the complaint filed by party spokesperson Keya Ghosh, Mitra took part in a rally that marched from Sealdah to Dharmatala on July 24 and openly posed with a poster showing what the BJP called an “objectionable and disrespectful” caricature of the prime minister.
Ghosh said the complaints were submitted under Sections 352 (provocation with intent to cause a breach of peace), 353 (public support for provocative conduct), and 356 (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as reported by Outlook.
While Ghosh registered a complaint at the Anandapur Police Station, reports said FIRs have also been filed against Mitra at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station and several other police stations.
“We saw attacks on journalists during the demonstration. Even women journalists were not spared and were molested. Such actions cannot be accepted. Showing the Prime Minister in this manner is also unacceptable, which is why the FIR has been filed,” Ghosh said.
Mitra’s Response
In response to the complaints, Mitra posted a video on her social media on Sunday addressing the matter.
“I have heard that several complaints have been lodged against me. First of all, let me clarify that there was such a huge crowd at the protest venue that I hardly got a chance to look at the poster carefully. Most women hardly look at a man below the belt. I saw Modi ji’s caricature with his hands spread and found it funny. I didn’t notice anything else,” she said.
The actor added that she had been wearing sunglasses rather than her regular spectacles.
“The posters were made by others. I merely happened to see one and pose with it. If they want to arrest me for this, they can. They can even hang me for it. And if they do, I am sure there will be another massive protest. The government should be prepared for that,” she said.
