Padmavati row: Ignoring FIR against him, BJP politician threatens theatres

An FIR (First Information Report) was filed this morning against Surajpal Singh Amu, a BJP office-bearer, for announcing cash rewards for beheading filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone. Ammu is the ruling party's media coordinator for Haryana. 

Ignoring the FIR, Ammu went ahead and made another threat, this time against movie theatres. The television channel NDTV quoted him as saying, “The youth and warrior caste [Rajputs] of this country have the strength to set every cinema on fire.”

According to him, such actions would fall under prime minister Narendra Modi’s Swachch Bharat [Clean India] initiative. 

The FIR was filed by an unnamed person from Gurugram. Ammu had ealier, while condemning Padmavati, encouraged a Rajput Karni Sena member who had announced a prize of Rs5 crore for beheading Bhansali and Deepika.

He had said, “Want to congratulate Meerut youth for announcing Rs5 crore bounty for beheading Deepika, Bhansali. We will reward the ones beheading them with Rs10 crore, and also take care of their family's needs.”

However, no action was taken against him by his party and the government, though his statement amounts to criminal intimidation, which is a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code.