Sedition case against celebs closed

The Bihar police have decided to close the sedition case slapped on 49 celebrities who wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July, asking that mob killing of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities be stopped immediately.

A case will also be filed against the complainant Sudhir Ojha, an advocate --for filing frivolous complaints, the police said. The sedition case against the celebrities - including actor and film-maker Aparna Sen, author Ramchandra Guha and film-maker Shyam Benegal -- was filed last week, leading to a huge controversy.

On Wednesday, police spokesperson Jitendra Kumar told NDTV that the chief of the district police has termed the case "maliciously false" and recommended action against petitioner. The case was filed "just to garner publicity," he said.

It is understood that the complainant could not produce supporting documents or evidence, not even the alleged letter written by the 49 persons, which may support his claim of commission of any offence.

Last week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's intervention was sought by his former associate and RJD national vice president Shivanand Tiwary.

An embarrassed Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, who is also a senior BJP leader, came out with a statement earlier in the day clarifying that his party or the Sangh Parivar did not have anything to do with the sedition case. The Deputy CM also dubbed the complainant, whom he did not mention by name, a "serial litigant."