Will 'TMKOC'-fame Munmun Dutta get arrested in casteist slur controversy?
What's the story
Last year, Munmun Dutta, who rose to fame for playing Babita Iyer on the popular Hindi soap Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC), had drawn ire for uttering a casteist slur online.
This led to several cases getting registered against the actor in multiple places.
Now, a special court in Hisar has reportedly rejected her bail plea.
Let's see what that means for Dutta.
Context
Why does the story matter?
Back in May 2021, Dutta had talked about how she wanted to look in her YouTube videos, mentioning the word "bhangi."
This word is a casteist slur, often used as slang. Bhangi is basically a surname that belongs to the SC category.
Soon, netizens called for Dutta's arrest for uttering the word following which the latter issued an apology, saying she was "misinformed."
Development
Most recently, special court rejected Dutta's anticipatory bail petition
On January 18, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed an anticipatory bail plea filed by the actor, reported Live Law.
Thereafter, as per reports, Dutta's counsel moved the case to a special court, formed under the SC/ST Act, in Hisar on January 25.
However, this court too dismissed Dutta's petition on January 28, thereby increasing the chances of her getting arrested.
What now
Dutta is evading arrest by faking illness: Lawyer Rajat Kalsan
Lawyer Rajat Kalsan, who had filed a complaint against the actor in Hisar, told us that although there's nothing stopping Dutta's arrest now, she is yet to be nabbed.
According to him, the police have been sending the actor notices but Dutta is not responding properly, claiming to be ill.
Our attempts at contacting the investigative officer, Hansi DSP Vinod Shankar, went in vain.
Update
Meanwhile, Dutta was live tweeting 'Bigg Boss 15' finale
Complaints had been filed against the famed Babita ji in five other places as well, namely Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier in June 2021, Dutta had requested the Supreme Court to club all these FIRs together, which the apex court granted eventually.
Separately, the actor's last tweets were about Bigg Boss 15's finale, in support of first runner-up Pratik Sehajpal.