A first information report (FIR) was lodged against Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty Kundra on Saturday at Andheri Police station, for allegedly using the word “bhangi” on a public platform that hurt the sentiments of a scheduled caste community. The term refers to a Hindu scavenger.
Confirming the news, Vice President of Rojgar Aghari Republican Party of India, Kishore Masoom, said: “We highly condemn Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty for using such words that show us in bad light. We have filed a complaint and will hold a protest in front of Galaxy Apartment, Salman’s house today. According to law, he has to serve an imprisonment of five years.”
Asked if he thought Salman Khan, who has a huge fan following would get bail easily, Masoom said: “No one is above the law, whether a normal public or a celebrity. And talking of his fans, only the elite people did not make him ‘Salman Khan the Star’, even Dalit people like us also watch his films. Who will support a man who is so disrespectful towards his fans? We are hurt.”
The complaint has been lodged by Navin Ramchandra Lade, General Secretary of Rojgar Aghari Republican Party of India.
The statement released by Lade’s lawyer reads: “Salman along with Katrina Kaif on a TV show used the insulting word bhangi against a member of the Scheduled Caste.”
“Actor Shilpa Shetty stated in an interview ‘I look like a bhangi’ - it appears from her statement that she is encouraging and spreading ill-feeling among the entire society. He also intentionally insulted members of the Scheduled Caste. Both actors have committed offence under sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, and Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.”
Lade added: “I felt insulted and humiliated. Being a member of the Scheduled Caste, I feel very pained and hurt due to an insulting statement made by Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty.”
The FIR comes a day after members of the Valmiki community in Rajasthan filed a complaint against the star in Jaipur for using the pejorative word.
In Kishangarh, Rajasthan, Salman Khan’s effigy was burned.
