FIR filed against Mani Ratnam, Revathy, and 47 other celebrities for writing an open letter to PM Modi

An FIR was filed in Muzaffarpur, Bihar against nearly 50 celebrities including filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Revathy, Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Anurag Kashyap for writing an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the increasing rate of mob lynching incidents in the country. This comes after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari two months ago in regards to the petition filed by an advocate in Bihar. 

"The CJM had passed the order on August 20, accepting my petition upon the receipt of which an FIR was lodged today at the Sadar police station here," said the advocate in question. He also added that the 49 signatories of the letter were named as accused in his petition in which they allegedly "tarnished the image of the country and undermined the impressive performance of the prime minister" besides "supporting secessionist tendencies."

The FIR has been lodged under IPC sections relating to sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to provoke breach of peace. The eminent personalities who have penned the letter also include Shyam Benegal, actor Soumitra Chatterjee, vocalist Shubha Mudgal social activist Binayak Sen and sociologist Ashis Nandy. The letter stresses that there is “no democracy without dissent,” and Jai Shri Ram has been reduced to “provocative war cry.” 

“We, as peace-loving and proud Indians, are deeply concerned about a number of tragic events that have been happening in recent times in our beloved 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,” said the letter dated July 23.