Case against Emran, Dibakar for Shanghai song

Police on Wednesday registered a case against Bollywood actor Emran Hashmi, director Dibakar Banerjee and 6 others, of the film "Shanghai" on the direction of a local court on a petition terming a song in the movie allegedly "offensive" to patriotic and religious sentiments of Indians.

A court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-1 gave the direction for filing the case under Indian Penal Code.

The court had given the direction to the police on July 9.

Two citizens of Jodhpur Vikas Sharma and Akash Ojha, representatives of a religious voluntary organization, Parshuram Sewa Dal, had filed a complaint in the court a few days ago objecting to a song Bharat Mata ki Jay' in the Bollywood flick.

The petitioners termed the song "offensive in terms of its lyrical value, which according to them was offensive for any true Indian as this song made a mockery of their sentiments towards their nation."

The court, while hearing the petition, directed the police to register a case against 8 persons including Hashmi and Banarjee.

SHO Gajendra Singh said "we have registered the case under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation), 153 (A) [promoting enmity between the groups], 153 (B) [prejudicial to national integration], 294 (obscene acts and song), 298 (uttering, words to wound the religious feelings) and 505 (statements conducting public mischief) of IPC.