Police complaint against poet for `hurting Hindu sentiments`

Kolkata: A Hindutva group has lodged a police complaint against noted poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay for allegedly hurting "Hindu sentiments and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath" in a Facebook post.

"We have received a complaint from one Arnab Sarkar last night. He accused Srijato of hurting Hindu sentiments in a Facebook post," an official of Siliguri police station cyber cell said.

Bandyopadhyay had posted a 12-line poem on his Facebook page on March 19, the day Yogi Adityanath was sworn as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

"He has hurt the feelings of each an every Hindu through the use of distasteful words against the community. I have strong reservations about the last line of the poem where he makes derogatory remarks about trishul and Yogi Adityanath," Sarkar, a member of 'Hindu Samhati', told reporters.

Reacting to the police complaint, Bandyopadhyay said, "It is really sad that in a country like India, which has been known for his democratic values, the right to freedom of speech and expression is shrinking fast. The majority of people in this country believe in freedom of speech."

"Since the poem was posted, I was trolled on Facebook and some of the comments made are very dangerous and threatening in nature," he said.

Tapan Ghosh, President of Hindu Samhati, said that the poem was written on the basis of false information and if the police failed to take action they would move court.