NEW DELHI: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Thursday directed the police chief to conduct a thorough probe into the alleged derogatory social media post made by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut. The L-G forwarded the complaint to the Delhi Police commissioner, directing him to probe scientifically and take legal action, if necessary, as per the law. L-G Saxena directed the Delhi Police chief to "ascertain the truth behind the whole episode and also the subsequent claims made by Shrinate, denying her involvement in the matter", according to an official release from the L-G office. Police will also probe who was behind the controversial social media post and whose mobile phone was used for the purpose, the sources said.


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The order for a probe into the alleged social media post comes close on the heels of BJP leader and the party's Lok Sabha candidate from the New Delhi seat, Baansuri Swaraj, writing to the L-G, demanding an investigation and the registration of an FIR against Shrinate for "outraging the modesty of a woman".


A controversial post from Shrinate's accounts against Ranaut, the Bollywood actor who has been fielded by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its candidate from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, triggered a bitter political row in the election season. Following a row, Shrinate removed the controversial remarks from all her social accounts, claiming that those were not posted by her but by someone else who had access to her accounts.


The Congress replaced Supriya Shrinate as a candidate from the constituency she contested in 2019, amid roaring outrage over her remarks on actor Kangana Ranaut, the BJP's pick from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi. Shrinate had contested the last Lok Sabha polls from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh but lost to BJP's Pankaj Chaudhary. This time, Congress has named Virendra Chaudhary as its choice for the seat, replacing Shrinate.


Earlier, the Election Commission (EC) also issued a show cause notice to the Congress leader over her alleged derogatory post against Kangana. According to the EC, the alleged post was deemed to have violated the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and the poll panel's advisory on March 1, this year.