Bengal police book Mithun Chakraborty for alleged hate speech

The West Bengal police on Tuesday registered a criminal case against actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mithun Chakraborty for his remarks during a speech on October 27

“The case was registered on a complaint lodged by Kaushik Saha, a Salt Lake resident, at the Bidhan Nagar North police station. Saha accused Chakraborty of inciting violence and communal hatred in his speech which was telecast by several news channels,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

The case was registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including 192 (intentionally or wantonly giving provocation to cause a riot) and 196 (promoting enmity between various groups), police officials said.

Chakraborty delivered the speech on October 27 at a BJP event where Union home minister Amit Shah launched the party’s membership drive at Salt Lake and felicitated him for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The controversial remarks were seen as a retort to a communal statement by a TMC leader during the Lok Sabha elections and a dare to the TMC.

Chakraborty was not available for comments on Wednesday. BJP’s Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar called the charges baseless.

“A lot of allegations like these are made every day. They are baseless. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not even congratulate Chakraborty after he won the prestigious award. Now she is honouring him by filing a case,” Majumdar said.

TMC state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said, “He (Chakraborty) is a great actor and the worst politician. He thinks dialogues from movies can be used in public speeches. What he did is shameful.”