FIR against TV actor Munmun Dutta under SC/ST Act in Hansi

Case registered in Haryana town on Dalit rights activist’s complaint that Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah defamed the community

TV serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah actress Munmun Dutta has been booked in Haryana’s Hansi town for making a casteist remark in a video she uploaded recently.

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma actor Munmun Dutta has been booked in Haryana’s Hansi town for making a casteist remark in a video she posted online. She took down the video and apologised on May 10. (HT file photo)

Acting on the complaint of Dalit rights activist Rajat Kalsan, the case was registered under Section 3(1)(U) of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities Act) for making the remark .

Kalsan complained to the Hansi superintendent of police that sentiments of the Dalit community had been hurt by the actress and that she had defamed the community. “The actress has lakhs of followers, and she used such remarks only to defame us,” he said.

Ram Phal, the inspector of Hansi city police station, confirmed that the FIR had been registered.

On May 10, Dutta, who belongs to West Bengal, termed the remark unintentional. “Due to the language barrier, I was misinformed about the meaning of the word,” she said.

In February, the Hansi police had booked former cricketer Yuvraj Singh on a complaint filed by Kalsan under the SC/ST Act for making casteist remarks on social media during a chat with fellow cricketer Rohit Sharma in June last year. Singh had also apologised for the remarks.