Sedition case filed against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore over social media posts
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Lucknow: Police in Lucknow have registered a case of sedition against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore following a complaint over her recent social media post.
She is accused of targeting a particular community in her ‘provocative’ social media posts in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack, The Siasat Daily reported.
Abhay Pratap Singh in the complaint, registered at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, accused Rathore of stoking communal tension alongside claiming that she used social media accounts for ‘anti-national statements’.
Singh called Rathore’s recent X posts as provocative and alleged they could incite communal violence.
Singh’s complaint stated : ‘In this situation, singer and poetess Neha Singh Rathore, using her Twitter (now X) handle @nehafolksinger made some objectionable posts that can adversely affect the national integrity and made repeated efforts to incite one community against another based on religion.’
However, Rathore who was known for songs like ‘Bihar mein ka ba“, “UP mein ka ba?“, and “MP mein ka ba?’, alleged that the government was trying to divert attention from ‘ real issues’ by filing the FIR against her.
Pointing to the government over its response to the terror attack she asked: ‘What has the government done so far in response to the Pahalgam attack? An FIR against me? If you have the guts then go, bring the heads of the terrorists. No need to blame me for your failures…’
Further questioning the action against her, Rathore said ‘questions will be asked in a democracy’, adding however that those raising question face ‘notices, FIRs, their jobs are taken away, humiliated and intimidated’.
The folk singer is now facing multiple charges including attempt to encourage ‘sectarian animosity ‘, alongside disturbing public tranquility and endangering the country’s sovereignty, unity and integrity. She is also booked under the Information Technology Act.
The UP police served the singer a notice in 2023 for calling out the Yogi Adityanath government by posting on platforms including X, Facebook and YouTube channel her songs like ‘UP Mein Ka Ba’.
Back then her songs pointed to an incident in which a mother-daughter were burnt alive in a village in Kanpur Dehat during an anti-encroachment drive.
