UP Cops Book Celebs Who Wrote To PM Modi On Mob Lynching

An FIR has been registered against around 50 celebrities, including Ramchandra Guha, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Basu and Aparna Sen, who had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to voice concern over growing incidents of mob lynching.

Police said the FIR was lodged on Thursday after an order was passed by a CJM court two months ago while hearing a petition by an advocate, Sudhir Kumar Ojha.

The petitioner alleged that the accused celebrities had “tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the Prime Minister” besides “supporting secessionist tendencies”.

Police said the accused celebrities were charged under various IPC sections, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

The letter was written by 49 eminent personalities, including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Shyam Benegal, Anurag Kashyap, actor Soumitra Chatterjee as well as vocalist Shubha Mudgal in July 2019.

It had said that the lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. At the same time, it also stressed that there was “no democracy without dissent”. It also noted that Jai Shri Ram had been reduced to a “provocative war cry.”