An FIR has been lodged against former chief minister Mamata Banerjee for allegedly inciting religious sentiments during a rally ahead of the Assembly elections.
Mamata has been accused of promoting enmity between groups, criminal intimidation, and intent to provoke breach of peace. If proved in court, the charges could carry a maximum punishment of three years in jail.
“It is alleged that... Mamata Banerjee... while addressing a political rally, made statements cautioning the public not to be misled by the alleged ‘misleading publicity’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, it was not made sufficiently clear as to what specific misinformation or misleading publicity was being referred to,” said Tushar Kanti Das, a Netaji Nagar resident who lodged the complaint.
“She was the chief minister at that time. Holding such a post, she was saying that one community would eradicate another had she and her party not been there. This type of statement is enough to cause a riot,” Das told Metro.
The senior citizen, who runs a business, said he was “not attached to any political party, but someone had to protest”.
Police registered a zero FIR at Hare Street police station based on the complaint.
“On March 9, 2026, at a dharna mancha at Esplanade..., the FIR-named accused, Mamata Banerjee, delivered a misleading speech pertaining to criminal intimidation intended to provoke breach of peace, affecting public tranquillity, communal harmony and the democratic structure of the state,” a senior officer at Lalbazar said.
The speech was made on March 9, while the complaint was lodged on May 20. The FIR was registered on June 7, with police stating that the place of occurrence falls under Hare Street police station.
A few weeks ago, another FIR was lodged against Mamata by officers of Siliguri Police Commissionerate on a similar complaint.