Complaint lodged against Vivek Agnihotri for 'Bhopali homosexual' remark in Maharashtra

A complaint has been lodged against Vivek Agnihotri at Mumbai's Versova police station for his controversial remarks regarding Bhopali citizens. The complaint, lodged by journalist and celebrity manager Rohit Pandey, sought registration of an FIR against the Director under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153A and B, 295A and 298.

Mumbai: A complaint was lodged against 'The Kashmir Files' director Vivek Agnihotri at Mumbai's Versova police station on Saturday. The complaint was lodged following a controversial statement made by Vivek Agnihotri regarding Bhopali citizens.

The complaint was lodged by journalist and celebrity manager Rohit Pandey, who is a native of Bhopal, through his lawyer Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh. Pandey alleged in the complaint that Agnihotri had disrespected Bhopal by "willingly, wantonly and maliciously calling Bhopalis as homosexuals". The police complaint seeks registration of an FIR against the director under sections 153A and B, which relate to promoting enmity between different groups, as well as sections 295A, 298, 500, and 505-II.

The incident sparked outrage after an interview of Agnihotri to an online platform went viral on Friday, displaying Vivek saying that he, despite growing up in Bhopal, was not a 'Bhopali'. Agnihotri further explains that the word denotes a homosexual person or someone 'with Nawabi taste'. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders and Digvijaya Singh had hit out at Agnihotri for the remark.

With agency inputs