Bhojpuri singer Varun Upadhyay alias Varun Bahar has come up with his new song ‘‘Jo Na Bole Jai Shri Ram, Usko Bhejo Kabristan” which has sparked controversy across the nation with multiple FIRs being filed against him. Reportedly, he has been taken into custody by the Hazratganj police station from his village Bandarha in Gonda.
Bahar released the song with Santosh Singh Yadav, the writer of the song and a co-curator of the YouTube channel called Janta Musical and Pictures, which produced and directed the video. Bahar’s three-minute-song that went viral on social media, drew the ire of thousands for inciting violence, encouraging mob lynching of minority communities and making exhortations through the lyrics.
Political activist Tehseen Poonawalla took to Twitter to express his anguish over this song and also urged the authorities to act against him. He himself lodged a police complaint with the Delhi Police. In a series of tweets, he wrote, “Dear @DelhiPolice, I am requesting you to file a complaint under IPC 153(a) & 295(a) against the makers of this video. This video incites Mob Violence against the citizens of India. Failure to do so will be contempt of SC (Tehseen Poonawalla vs UoI) @CPDelhi. If a FIR against this hate video makers is not registered by you, I, Tehseen Poonawalla will protest by playing this video outside the residence of hon @PMOIndia shree @narendramodi ji. Kindly take note. Dear @DelhiPolice as per law, I have filed a police complaint & received an acknowledgement from you regarding the above video. I urge you to file a FIR ASAP & take action against the maker of this video, that is misusing the pious slogan ” #JaiShreeRam ” to start #MobLynching.”
Bahar along with Yadav posted another video after the controversies erupted over their song. In the video, he urged right-wing groups like Bajrang Dal and Hindu Yuva Vahini along with political parties like Shiv Sena to help him in the face of the backlash his song had created. Featuring alongside Yadav, Bahar categorically denied that his lyrics were inflammatory and said that the singer did not take names of any religion. “I have not taken the names of any religion here. Media is after my life and is not concerned about content on social media that is much more provocative and vulgar in nature.”
Expressing regret, the singer added that the song was sung in ‘Josh’ and the matter should be put to rest. “I have been singing for last 12 years and have done course in professional singing from Bhatkhande Music University in Lucknow,” he said.
Speaking to media about the singer’s detention, SSP Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani, said, “The cyber cell of Lucknow alerted us about the provocative video that was uploaded on the YouTube channel owned by Rajesh Verma. He, along with Yadav and a man by the name of Mukesh Pandey, were involved in composing the song with Bahar and have also been detained.”
Further investigations are underway and the police is trying to track down more hate speech content, he said, as he made an appeal to the people to intimate the police immediately if they come across any such inflammatory songs or videos on social media. “This is important as it can hamper the communal harmony of the society,” he added.
Related Articles: