MHA asks I&B Min to have re-look at movie cleared by arrested Censor Board chief
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Thursday stayed the release of controversial Punjabi film, “Kaum de Heere”, which is based on the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The film was slated to be released on Friday in 100 cinema halls in north India and was cleared by Censor Board chief Rakesh Kumar, who has been arrested in a bribe case.
The decision of the Ministry comes in the wake of a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asking the I&B Ministry to take a re-look at clearance given to it.
According to sources, the MHA pointed to the I&B Ministry that some of the content in the film were “highly objectionable” and may create enmity between communities and lead to communal tension.
The film, that is based on the lives of the Beant Singh, Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh, who were involved in the assassination of the then Prime Minister. The film glorifies their act. Gandhi was shot dead by her two Sikh bodyguards at her official residence in New Delhi on October 31, 1984.
The Censor Board passed the film with an ‘A’ certificate. Kumar had himself denied clearance in February but granted certification in July.
Meanwhile, the CBI may file a disproportionate assets case against Rakesh Kumar after complete scrutiny and valuation of his movable and immovable properties.
Preliminary review of the documents seized from his Mumbai residence has revealed that Kumar and his wife, who is an income tax officer, own six properties and two bank lockers. This besides, the agency has recovered over one kg of gold and dozens of expensive watches from his residence during searches earlier this week, official sources said.
The sleuths are undertaking professional valuation of the properties besides ascertaining the worth of valuables recovered from the lockers. Following the valuation of the assets, the income of Kumar and his wife will be calculated and a disproportionate assets case will be registered if any discrepancy in income and asset creation is prima facie established, the sources said.
The investigators are also analyzing the CCTV footage of Mumbai-based Infinity Mall, where Kumar allegedly used to strike deals with arrested agent Sarvesh Jaiswal. Kumar allegedly frequented the cafes and gaming zones of the mall for receiving illegal gratification.
The sleuths have also gathered call detail records (CDRs) of two mobile phones regularly used by Kumar, including for underhand negotiations with film clearing agents. The agency has retrieved messaging service/WhatsApp communication of Kumar with other agents. Kumar’s chats/messages with arrested agents including a suspect Krishna Kumar Balli suggest negotiations for clearance of films struck through the messaging service.