Muzaffarpur (Bihar): An FIR has been lodged against the celebrities who had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over the growing incidents of mob lynching.
The case was registered against around 50 celebrities, including Mani Ratnam, Ramchandra Guha, Anurag Basu and Aparna Sen after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago on a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
Ojha 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”.
The FIR was lodged under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace, media reports stated citing police sources.
Notably on July 23, as many as 49 eminent personalities wrote an open letter to Modi over incidents of lynching in the country.
“The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions,” the letter said.
The celebrities also regretted that “Jai Shri Ram” has been reduced to a “provocative war cry” and alleged the prime minister’s inaction on the issue.