Telugu actor and film critic Mahesh Kathi is yet again in trouble, for his remarks on Hindu god, Lord Rama. He has been booked under sections 505 (1) and 505 (2) (statements conducing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code, by the Hyderabad cyber crime police on Sunday.
Speaking at an anti-CAA event in Osmania University last week, Mahesh Kathi had said, “In Valmiki’s Ramayana, Rama’s favourite dish is Peacock’s leg and deer meat. Do you think that Sita ran after the deer to pray to it? It was to eat." He then went on to say that Rama had mistresses and a short video of this controversial statement has gone viral and landed him in trouble.
The case was registered following a complaint by a person identified as Umesh Kumar. Umesh in his complaint reportedly said, “The speech contains false and derogatory words. His speech may disrupt peace and harmony in the society. We couldn’t mention the comments of Kathi Mahesh in this letter as those comments are derogatory and demeaning to Lord Rama,” according to news website News Meter.
Speaking to TNM, Hyderabad cyber crime Inspector N Mohan Rao said that after verifying the complaint they found the statements objectionable and filed a case against him.
Meanwhile on Monday, another organization- Hindu Sanghatan- filed a complaint with the Nampally police. President of the organization, Karunasagar Kashimshetty said that the comments made by Mahesh Kathi had hurt his religious sentiments and the sentiments of Hindus at large. Nampally police Sub Inspector Srikanth Reddy said that they are verifying the complaint and haven’t registered a case yet.
It must be recalled that in 2018, Mahesh Kathi was banned from Hyderabad for six months by the Telangana police under the Telangana Prevention of Anti-Social and Hazardous Activities Act, 1980, during a similar controversy involving Lord Rama.
During a TV debate, Mahesh had said according to him Rama was a “cheat” and that Sita would have been better off had she stayed with Ravana. This statement led to a controversy, following which he was banned from entering Hyderabad for six months.