Highlights:
- Mithun Chakraborty is under fire for comments made during the Bengal election campaign.
- He is being questioned by Kolkata Police for the alleged usage of ‘inciteful’ movie dialogues during the election campaign.
- The Calcutta High Court had recently approved the actor-turned-politician to participate in the inquiry virtually.
In a controversy over one of the statements during the Bengal election campaign, actor and BJP politician Mithun Chakraborty was questioned by police today in Bengal.
The 71-year-old actor was virtually questioned by Kolkata Police in connection with a charge filed against him over a speech he gave on March 7 after joining the BJP. According to a First Information Report (FIR), the speech led to post-election violence in Bengal after Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress won a landslide win on May 2.
The 71-year-old had made an appeal with the Calcutta High Court to get the FIR dismissed. The court then ordered a virtual interrogation of the actor by an investigation officer.
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He said that he had merely spoken popular dialogue from his movies and that it was only for recreational. The actor claimed himself innocent, stating that he is unconnected to any of the allegations made by the complainant.
A dialogue from his 2006 film MLA Fatakeshto is included in the police investigation “”Marbo ekhaney…lash porbay shoshaney (‘I will thrash you here. Your body will be found at the crematorium.”)
He also recited the following lines in his much-applauded speech: “Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi… ami ekta cobra, ek chobol-ei chobi (Don’t mistake me for a harmless snake, I am a pure cobra, one strike and you become a photograph).
These dialogues were said to have triggered for post-election violence in the state.
He has been charged with inciting enmity between various groups, inflicting an intentional insult with the goal of provoking a breach of peace, and uttering words that are likely to cause public disturbance.
Chakraborty had asked the additional chief judicial magistrate in Sealdah court to dismiss the proceedings against him.
The Calcutta High Court had ordered the actor to disclose his e-mail address to the authorities so that he could be questioned via video conference.
After hearing Chakraborty’s plea, the court ordered the investigating officer to provide him a fair amount of time to appear via video conference.
The court set the subject for hearing on June 18 after the petitioner’s and prosecution’s counsel requested that it be heard at a later date.
In the meanwhile, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh ruled that Chakraborty or his lawyer provide the state with his e-mail address so that he can make himself available through video conference to answer any questions the investigating officer may have.
Following the announcement of assembly election results on May 2, clashes were reported in numerous locations across West Bengal.
Mamata Banerjee, the state’s chief minister, reported early last month that at least 16 people had died in the state’s post-election violence.
