FIR against lyricist Javed Akhtar over RSS remark

Mumbai: Mumbai police registered an FIR against lyricist Javed Akhtar on Monday over his alleged remark against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an official said.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Mulund police station on a complaint filed by city-based lawyer Santosh Dubey.

“The FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 500 (punishment for defamation),” the official from Mulund police station said.

The lawyer last month sent a legal notice to Akhtar for allegedly making “false and defamatory” remarks against the RSS in an interview to a news channel, and sought an apology from him over it.

Akhtar (76) in a recent interview drew parallels between the Taliban and Hindu extremists.

Dubey in his notice had claimed that by making such statements, Akhtar committed an offence under IPC Sections 499 (defamation) and 500 (punishment for defamation).

“I had earlier sent a legal notice to Akhtar and asked him to apologise over his remark, but he fail to do so. Now, an FIR has been registered against him on my complaint,” the lawyer told PTI.