'Tandav' row: Ali Abbas Zafar to appear before UP Police
A team of Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday visited the residences of Tandav's director Ali Abbas Zafar and writer Gaurav Solanki in Mumbai. They have been asked to appear before the investigating officer at the Hazratganj Police station in Lucknow on January 27 by 10 am, in connection with a case registered against them over the controversial show. Here are more details on this.
The UP Police officers pasted notices outside the residences of Zafar and Solanki, as both were not present at their respective homes. The officers also reached producer Himanshu Mehra's residence on Thursday evening, but found out that he had vacated the place some time back. The four-member team, headed by Inspector Anil Kumar Singh, had reached Mumbai on Tuesday night.
Inspector Singh said, "We have given notice to two and one Mehra's location we are trying to find." He further informed that they would visit streaming service Amazon Prime Video's office on Friday, before heading back to Lucknow.
The First Information Report (FIR) against the creators of Tandav was lodged on the complaint of Senior Sub-Inspector (SSI) Amarnath Yadav, at Hazratganj Police station. It was registered under the Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult religion), 505 (statement conducing public mischief), and 469 (forgery on purpose of harming reputation) of the Indian Penal Code.
The show has been mired in controversy since it debuted on the said streamer last week. Users on social media as well as several politicians have alleged that the series mocks Hindu deities, insults religious sentiments, and depicts the UP Police in poor light. Several other complaints and FIRs have also been filed against the actors and makers of the show.
After the controversy erupted, Zafar had issued a public apology, stating they did not intend to hurt anyone's feelings or sentiments. The makers of the show have since made changes to at least two scenes that had triggered the controversy. The show features actors Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Zeeshan Ayyub, and Gauahar Khan, among others.
