The police in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh have registered an FIR against Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut in Shimla over her social media post targeting Sonia Gandhi and the Gandhi family. The FIR was registered on Friday following a complaint lodged by a retired Captain, Atul Sharma, who alleged that her remarks were inflammatory and could disturb peace.
The FIR has been filed under Sections 196(1)(b), 353(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Confirming the registration of the FIR, Shimla Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said that an investigation would follow.
According to the complainant, the BJP MP had posted controversial content from her verified social media account on Tuesday (November 10) which attempted to cast suspicion on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Indira Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. He added that the post used provocative insinuations.
Captain Sharma approached the state DGP through an email, seeking the immediate registration of an FIR and a time-bound cyber-forensic probe into the posts.
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In one of her posts, Ranaut referred to Sonia Gandhi, whose recently launched autobiography made headlines, as a 'mysterious foreign national,' suggesting that her relatives were killed one after another. She added that these deaths paved the way for her to become the 'head of the government.'
She also wrote in her post that after Sanjay Gandhi's death, Maneka Gandhi was 'thrown out' of the house. The post ended with the 'How Convenient' remark.
In his complaint, Sharma alleged that her posts went beyond political criticism and were a calculated attempt to spread inflammatory narratives.
Ranaut's remarks came after an archival home video from around 1981 resurfaced on social media and on the very same day Gandhi's memoir was released. The home footage shows a family dinner attended by her, Indira Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. Young Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were also present at the event.