Lucknow: Acting on the directions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Lucknow Police have registered an FIR against the director of the upcoming film Ghooskhor Pandat, whose teaser was recently released and promoted on the OTT platform Netflix.
The Uttar Pradesh government said on Friday that the action was taken on charges of spreading social animosity, hurting religious and caste sentiments, and attempting to disturb public peace. The FIR was registered late Thursday night at Hazratganj police station.
Hazratganj SHO Vikram Singh said the police took cognisance of the film’s title and promotional material circulated on social media platforms. According to him, the title Ghooskhor Pandat and the content used for promotion were found to be objectionable at first glance.
The FIR states that the film’s title appears to have been deliberately chosen to target and demean a particular community or caste, specifically the Brahmin community. Police noted that the title and dialogues promoted on Netflix and social media triggered strong reactions from various sections of society.
Several organisations have reportedly warned of aggressive protests against the film, raising concerns over potential law and order issues. In view of the sensitivity of the matter and the possibility of disruption to public peace, the police initiated immediate legal action.
According to the police, the preliminary assessment suggests that the director and his team promoted the film with the intention of creating social disharmony and provoking unrest. Based on these findings, the FIR has been registered against the director and other members of the film’s team.
The case has been filed under Sections 196, 299, 352 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which relate to promoting enmity, deliberate acts to outrage religious feelings, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and statements leading to public mischief. Provisions of the Information Technology Act have also been invoked.
Further investigation in the matter is underway.
