UP: Folk singer Neha Singh Rathore booked for 'provocative' social media posts
The complainant said Rathore made objectionable posts repeatedly in an effort to incite one community against another based on religion; she is booked for sedition
Lucknow, Apr 28 (PTI) Police here have registered a case of sedition against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore over a complaint that her provocative social media posts targeting a particular faith community in the wake of the Pahalgam tragedy could harm the nation's unity.
The complainant referred to the execution-like killing of 26 people, mostly tourists, in Pahalgam last week by terrorists after reportedly asking about their religious affiliation, which left the entire country grieving.
"In this situation, singer and poetess Neha Singh Rathore, using her Twitter (now X) handle @nehafolksinger made some objectionable posts that can adversely affect the national integrity and made repeated efforts to incite one community against another based on religion," the complainant, Abhay Pratap Singh, said.
Rathore, known for songs such as "Bihar mein ka ba", "UP mein ka ba?", and "MP mein ka ba?", said the government wants to divert attention from "real issues" by filing an FIR against her.
"What has the government done so far in response to the Pahalgam attack? An FIR against me? If you have the guts then go, bring the heads of the terrorists. No need to blame me for your failures...
"This is a democracy and questions will be asked in a democracy. If you don't want me to ask questions, go and sit in the Opposition," she said in a video shared with her close to 435,000 followers on X on Monday.
The complaint was registered at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case against the folk singer on multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including attempting to promote sectarian animosity, disturbing public tranquillity and endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, police said, adding that she has also been booked under the Information Technology Act.
While BNS does not explicitly mention sedition as was specified in the colonial-era Indian Penal Code Section 124A, the new criminal code deals with similar charges of endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country under section 152. PTI
