Multiple first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged against Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra across West Bengal on Sunday (July 26, 2026) for allegedly carrying a poster with an objectionable cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the massive students’ rally in Kolkata on Friday (July 24, 2026) demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The protest march, led by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and several Left-affiliated students’ wings, started from the Sealdah station in which thousands of young students and also people from various section of the society showed up on Friday in solidarity with the protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Ms. Mitra also walked with the students in the rally with the poster in hand that later surfaced controversy on the social media.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Keya Ghosh on Sunday (July 26) lodged the first FIR against her at Kolkata’s Anandapur police station that was followed by more such complaints at various police stations in different districts of West Bengal, said police officials.
“We witnessed hooliganism during the protest, including attacks on journalists. Even women journalists were not spared and were allegedly molested. Such actions by the Left are completely unacceptable. Meanwhile, displaying a poster depicting the Prime Minister in such a derogatory manner cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. That is why this FIR has been filed,” Ms. Ghosh told the presspersons.
Ms. Mitra is known for her often outspoken views on politics and also against the nepotism and syndicate rule by political leaders in the Tollygunge film industry. In 2024, she also lodged an FIR against the Malayalam film director Ranjith soon after the Hema Committee report was published. She accused the director of sexual misconduct during the pre-production/audition phase of his 2009 film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha.
Meanwhile, the BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya on Sunday also took a dig at the protesters in Friday’s rally by calling them anti-nationals. He said that the ones who have been arrested for the violence in Friday’s rally are directly involved with Trinamool Congress while the Left are appeasing them.
“They also raised ‘Azadi’ slogan in the protest. Our country is already free. Such slogans of the anti-national forces patronised by the Left will not be apred. BJP government will take necessary action in it,” he added.
