Arrest warrants issued for Bollywood actress for maligning Indian army
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A court in Indian state of Bihar's Begusarai city issued arrest warrants against actress-producer Ekta Kapoor and her mother Shobha Kapoor on charges of allegedly insulting Indian soldiers and hurting the sentiments of their family members in the second season of her web series, titled XXX.
The court issued the warrant after Ekta and Shobha Kapoor skipped the court summons. The matter is based on a complaint filed by Shambhu Kumar, an ex-serviceman, who is a resident of Begusarai.
Kumar, an ex-serviceman and a resident of Begusarai, said in his complaint in 2020, that the web series had several objectionable scenes related to a soldier’s wife.
"The court had issued summons to them and asked them to appear before it, on the basis of a complaint lodged by Shambhu Kumar, an ex-serviceman and a resident of Begusarai, but they did not appear before the court, following which warrant was issued against them," said Advocate Hrishikesh Pathak.
Bihar Court issues arrest warrants against Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor for insulting the Indian army in AltBalaji web series https://t.co/uQCZzeqEy1
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) September 30, 2022
“They (Ekta and Shobha Kapoor), however, informed the court that certain scenes in the series were removed after the objection. But they did not appear before the court following which the warrant was issued against them,” Pathak said.
Notably, cases against Ekta Kapoor were registered earlier in other places related to the web series.
An FIR was registered against producer Ekta Kapoor and others in Indore for allegedly hurting religious feelings, insulting Indian army personnel and improper use of the national emblem.
According to the police, the FIR was lodged at the Annapurna police station in 2020, under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and IT Act.
https://twitter.com/kadak_chai_/status/1575362361644683264
Neeraj Yagnik, the complainant in this case, said that he lodged an FIR on the matter after watching the objectionable use of the national emblem and the army uniform in the web series.
The series aired on ALTBalaji, an over-the-top platform (OTT) owned by Ekta Kapoor's TV company Balaji Telefilms. Shobha Kapoor is associated with the company.
It is an erotic comedy-drama with each episode featuring a different story revolving different aspects of sexual relationships. The first season came out in 2018, while the second premiered in January 2020.