Author Madhu Kishwar booked over ‘circulation’ of objectionable video on social media

New Delhi: Trouble mounted for the noted author Madhu Kishwar, as the Chandigarh police came looking for her in the national capital, over ‘sharing’ an objectionable and misleading video on the social media.

The Chandigarh police, which lodged the First Information Report (FIR) against her under multiple sections on April 19, reached her Delhi residence on Tuesday to hand over the notice.

Sarita Roy, Station House Officer (SHO) of Chandigarh’s Sector-19, who led the police team to her residence told the media, “An FIR was filed on April 19 at Sector-26 Police Station.”

Briefly sharing the details of case, SHO Roy said, “it’s related to an objectionable video. It was shared and re-tweeted by her (Madhu Kishwar). We served her a notice under 35.3 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).”

She also told the reporters that the author has been asked to appear in Chandigarh police station on Wednesday and join the investigation.

Madhu Kishwar has been booked under multiple sections, including 196 (acts promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between groups based on religion, race, language), 336 (1) (forgery) and 356 (criminal defamation) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), besides Sections 66 C, D and Section 67.

The FIR was filed against Madhu Kishwar, purportedly based on a complaint filed by a Chandigarh-based person, who claimed that misleading and forged social media posts and videos were being shared by various accounts, including her with a “malafide” intent.

The author also took to social media to acknowledge that an FIR was lodged against her and the police team reached her residence.

Informing that it was a late-night visit by the police, Madhu Kishwar also assured them of cooperation.

“Since the law forbids the police to visit or arrest women after dark and before sunrise, I spoke on phone to the leader of the delegation. She told me that their team has come to serve notice regarding an FIR registered against me in Chandigarh. I insisted that they go by the law and come in the morning. Both sides maintained perfect courtesy,” she wrote in a post on social media platform X.

IANS