The Himachal Pradesh Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in Shimla against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut over her social media posts concerning the Gandhi family, according to reports by news agencies ANI and IANS. Ranaut represents the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh.

Source: ANI

The case was registered on Friday, November 13, under Sections 196(1)(b), 353(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, IANS reported. Shimla Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh confirmed the registration of the case and said an investigation would follow, according to ANI.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

The complaint and the allegations

The FIR follows a complaint submitted by retired Captain Atul Sharma, a resident of Shimla, who emailed the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, on November 12, ANI reported. Copies were also forwarded to senior officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Cyber Crime wing, seeking a detailed investigation and a cyber-forensic examination of the posts, the reports said.

According to the complainant, a series of posts published on November 10 from Ranaut's verified X account, accompanying an archival video featuring members of the Gandhi family, contained what he described as highly inflammatory insinuations regarding the deaths of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her sons Sanjay Gandhi and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The complaint also objected to Sonia Gandhi being described as a 'mysterious foreign national'. These are the complainant's allegations, as reported by ANI, IANS, Mirror Now and The Daily Jagran; they have not been established by any court.

What the police have confirmed

Shimla SP Gaurav Singh confirmed to ANI that a case has been registered under BNS Sections 196, 353 and 356. Police have initiated an investigation into the allegations. Registration of an FIR is the start of a legal process and does not establish guilt.

There was no immediate response from Ranaut to the complaint in the ANI report. Awaaz Punjab is reporting the allegations strictly as allegations made in a police complaint, based on the named wire and news sources above.

The case adds a legal dimension to a political row in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, where the BJP MP's posts about the Congress's first family drew the complaint within two days of publication. What happens next will depend on the police investigation, including the requested examination of the posts' digital origin.