Woman booked for using abusive language against PM Modi at CJP-led Jantar Mantar protest

A Faridabad-based woman, who was allegedly seen using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest at Jantar Mantar on July 23 in a viral video, was booked on charges of “intentional insult”, “public mischief” and defamation after a Ghaziabad resident approached the Expressway police station in Noida, police said on Thursday.A police officer monitors CCTV footage from a mobile command-and-control vehicle at the Jantar Mantar protest site, where India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters gathered, last week. (Reuters File Photo)Police said a ‘zero FIR’, which can be filed by any police station irrespective of the place of incident or jurisdiction, was registered in Noida and sent to the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi for further investigation.What complaint saysThe case was registered after a resident of Vasundhara in Ghaziabad, Smriti Singh, approached the police station in Noida on Wednesday evening. In her complaint, Singh alleged that she came to know that the woman, while present at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, “used abusive and objectionable language in public against the Prime Minister of India”. “This act not only hurt the dignity of a constitutional office but was also allegedly intended to spread hatred and disturb public peace,” reads her complaint as per the FIR, accessed by HT.Smriti Singh, who is a lawyer, told HT, “Multiple videos of the woman are doing rounds on social media platforms in which she used abusive language against the PM and even his mother.”She added, “It is unacceptable and tarnishes our country's image on a public platform. When I came to know about the posts, I confirmed her identity with her friends through social media only and approached the police to take strict action against her to send a message in society that abusive language cannot be used for views and followers.”What police saidNoida Police said on Wednesday that the complainant approached them because she believed the suspect resided in Noida."The (accused) woman, who is into (beauty) parlour business, owns a flat in a high-rise in Sector 168, but during the investigation, it came to light that she resides in Uncha village in Faridabad. The Noida flat is empty," said a senior police officer, privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity.Manisha Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida, said, “As the incident took place under the jurisdiction of Parliament Street police station in New Delhi, we registered a zero FIR under sections 352 (intentional insult), 353(1) (statements conducting to public mischief) and 356 (1) (defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Expressway police station on Wednesday night and transferred the case diary to concerned police station for further investigation.”