A Karnataka court has directed police to lodge an FIR against actress Kangana Ranaut for using the word “atanki (terrorists)” while commenting on the farmers’ protests against the farm laws.
Kangana had tweeted in Hindi on September 20: “Mr Prime Minister, if someone is sleeping, they can be woken up. If someone has a misconception, they can be made to understand. But those who are pretending to be asleep, what difference will your explanation make to them? These are the very same terrorists who had spilt rivers of blood although CAA did not take away the citizenship of any individual.”
The actress was responding to a tweet by the Prime Minister trying to allay fears over the farm laws. Reacting to a news report on her comment the next day, Kangana had tweeted: “People who spread misinformation and rumours about CAA that caused riots are the same people who are now spreading misinformations about Farmers bill and causing terror in the nation, they are terrorists….”
On Friday, the judicial magistrate first class of Tumkur in Karnataka directed the police to book a case against Kangana, based on a petition filed by lawyer L. Ramesh Naik who described himself as a farmer hurt by the comments.
The farm laws have triggered protests in Punjab and Haryana and several other states, including Karnataka, appearing to unnerve the Modi government.
“I was deeply hurt with the way she (Kangana) described protesting farmers as terrorists. Apart from being a lawyer, I am a farmer involved in day-to-day farming of my land. That is why I decided to stand up for all the farmers she has insulted,” Naik told The Telegraph on Saturday.
He said he was left with no option but to seek a judicial direction since the police had ignored his written complaints.
“I had complained to the state director-general of police and the Tumkur police superintendent the day after she called farmers terrorists. But I was extremely disappointed due to the lack of any action from the police,” Naik said.
He moved court on September 25, after which two hearings have taken place.
In his petition, Naik has argued that Kangana “has a clear intention to injure the people who are opposing the farmers’ bills” and was “wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot”.
“I am relieved that the court took note of my concern as a farmer and directed the police to file an FIR. Now it is up to the local police station, which is expected to be served with the order copy by today (Saturday) evening,” Naik said.
He said the police would have to follow the court order and file an FIR within 24 hours of receiving its copy. “There is no weekend holiday for a criminal case. I am expecting the police to file an FIR today itself,” Naik said.
The local police station confirmed that they would register an FIR once they received the certified court order copy.
