Folk singer and political satirist Neha Singh Rathore has been booked for sedition and other serious charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, after posting critical comments about the government’s handling of the recent attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The case was registered on Sunday at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow, officials confirmed.
The FIR, lodged by poet Abhay Pratap Singh, accuses Rathore of inciting communal disharmony and threatening national integrity through her posts on social media platform X. She faces charges under multiple sections of the BNS — including 196(1)(a), 196(1)(b), 197(1)(a)–(d), 353(1)(c), 353(2), 302, 152 — and under Section 69A of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008.
Rathore’s posts, made between April 23 and 27, criticised the Narendra Modi-led government for what she called “security lapses and politicisation of terror attacks”. She alleged that the Pulwama attack had been used for electoral gains and warned of similar narratives after the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people, including a Nepali national, on April 22.
She also questioned the postponement of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit to Jammu days before the attack and sarcastically targeted spiritual figure Dhirendra Shastri, asking why he had not “foreseen” the tragedy if he possessed divine powers.
“Terrorist attacks are failures of the government, and those in power must be held accountable,” Rathore wrote. “Questioning the government should not be equated with disloyalty.”
Responding to the FIR, Rathore posted, “What action has the government taken so far regarding the Pahalgam attack? An FIR against me? If you have the courage, bring back the heads of the terrorists! Filing an FIR against me is merely an attempt to divert attention from the real issues — is this so difficult to understand?”
Who is Neha Singh Rathore?
Born in 1997 in Jandaha, Bihar, Rathore gained fame through Bhojpuri folk songs sharply critiquing governance and social injustices. She began posting satirical songs during the COVID-19 lockdown and soon became a recognizable voice, with popular works like ‘Bihar Mein Ka Ba’, ‘UP Mein Ka Ba?’ and ‘MP Mein Ka Ba?’. Her content often targets political leadership and social failures, and she has faced previous legal challenges, including over a caricature linked to a 2023 urination incident in Madhya Pradesh.
