Actress Srelekha Mitra faces legal trouble over student protest poster

Actress Srelekha Mitra has landed in legal trouble following her participation in a student protest in Kolkata, where she was seen holding a poster featuring an objectionable image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Multiple complaints have been filed against her at various police stations, though the actress has denied the allegations and clarified her position.

According to reports, BJP leader Keya Ghosh filed a complaint against Srelekha at Anandapur Police Station. Additional complaints have also been lodged at Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station and other districts.

The incident took place on July 24 during a protest in Kolkata demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak allegations. Srelekha was photographed holding a poster, which allegedly contained an objectionable image of PM Modi.

Police have received the complaints but have not yet filed an FIR. According to police sources, a decision will be taken after preliminary investigation. The complaints refer to sections 352, 353 and 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Addressing the matter, Srelekha Mitra said, "A photo of me standing with a specific poster has gone viral. I may be anti-BJP, but calling me anti-national is ridiculous. It is equally ridiculous to claim I deliberately held that poster."

The actress claimed she was running with the students during the protest. Without her necessary glasses, she could not clearly see the poster.

She said, "I forgot to bring my glasses. I only had sunglasses. So I couldn't see exactly what was on the poster. There was a police lathi-charge at the time. In the chaos, I didn't get a chance to look at the poster properly."

Meanwhile, complainant BJP leader Keya Ghosh said she found the matter objectionable as a citizen, beyond her party identity. She stated that legal action should be taken for displaying such objectionable images, and if necessary, they would approach the court.

No case has been filed against Srelekha Mitra so far. Police will take a decision after investigating the complaints.

Source: Anandabazar