The Punjab Police on Friday booked a Central Industrial Security Force constable for allegedly slapping actor and newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kangana Ranaut on Thursday, at the Chandigarh airport, in retaliation for her disparaging remarks about the 2020-’21 farmers’ protest, reported The Indian Express.
The first information report filed against constable Kulwinder Kaur in Mohali district charges her with causing hurt under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, and wrongful restraint under section 341 of the Indian Penal Code.
The report was filed on the basis of a complaint by the Central Industrial Security Force. Kaur has been suspended from duty and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against her.
On Thursday, Ranaut, the MP from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, alleged that she was assaulted by Kaur when she was at the Chandigarh airport to board a flight to Delhi.
In a video widely shared on social media, Kaur was seen recounting the BJP MP’s remarks about the farmers’ protest in 2020.
During the protest against the now-repealed farm laws, Ranaut had misidentified a woman farmer and claimed that she was Bilkis Bano, a woman who was at the forefront of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood.
Referring to Bano, Ranaut had alleged in a now-deleted tweet that the “same Dadi [grandmother]” who had also featured in Time magazine was now “available in Rs 100”, according to The Indian Express.
On Thursday, a video widely shared on social media showed Ranaut being escorted by security officers after she was allegedly slapped.
Ranaut later said in a video message that she was safe. She expressed concerned about “growing terrorism and extremism in Punjab”.
Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh, who contested unsuccessfully against Ranaut in Mandi, said that the incident was unfortunate.
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