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Sedition case against 49 celebrities closed

The police had registered the case last week after an order by chief judicial magistrate Surya Kant Tiwary.

Patna: The Bihar police on Wednesday decided to close the sedition case against 49 prominent personalities who had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over incidents of mob lynching across the country.

Celebrities against whom the case was filed included filmmakers Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Anurag Kashyap, Mani Ratnam, Shyam Benegal, actor Soumitra Chatt-erjee, and singer Shubha Mudgal.

Talking to this newspaper on the phone, Muzaffarpur SSP Manoj Kumar said that during the investigation, the police did not find “enough substance” in the sedition charges and decided to close the case against all 49 celebrities.

He said a case will also be filed against lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha for filing a false case against the celebrities.

“Recommendations have been made for closure of the case against celebrities as the investigation revealed the allegations were levelled against the accused only to gain publicity. A case against the complainant will also be filed under Sections 182 and 211 of the Indian Penal Code”, the Muzaffarpur SSP said.

The police had registered the case last week after an order by chief judicial magistrate Surya Kant Tiwary.

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