Court orders inquiry against Kangana and sister Rangoli for defaming members of Tablighi Jamaat

A Mumbai court on Thursday ordered an inquiry against actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for allegedly  defaming the members of the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi. Reacting to the complaint filed by advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, the Andheri court said that the evidence involved in the case against the sisters is electronic, and therefore, the police need to conduct an inquiry first. Earlier this year, Rangoli had shared a few tweets criticising the members of the Tablighi Jamaat during the COVID-19 lockdown period. This led to the suspension of her Twitter account after which her sister, Kangana, released a video on her Twitter account defending Rangoli against those who accused her of spreading religious hatred online.

As reported by Mumbai Mirror, the court observed, “Allegations in the complaint are based on the comments of the accused on (a) social media platforms. Evidence against the accused appears to be of electronic nature. Therefore inquiry at the hands of police is necessary for proceeding against (the) proposed accused. Such an inquiry will be helpful to know the roles of (the) accused.” The court added that the alleged video and the tweets are no longer available on record and therefore, a professional inquiry is a must. The actor had become entangled in a row with the Maharashtra government after she said that Mumbai felt like Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to her and that she feared living in the city. She had also criticised the Mumbai Police for its handling of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The Centre gave Ranaut Y-plus security last month.