A court in Nadia district, West Bengal, has issued an arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra after she repeatedly failed to appear in court despite being ordered to do so. The judge had set a deadline of 5:00 p.m. Wednesday for her to appear at the fast-track court. When she failed to appear within that time, Krishnanagar court judge Dibyendu Das issued the arrest warrant.
According to case details, the Krishnanagar MP is accused of hurting religious sentiments through a video message. Some time ago, when word spread that Mahua Moitra was due to appear in court, a group of women gathered at the court premises holding eggs. Photos of the gathering went viral on social media. Moitra subsequently released a video message in which she advised the women to wear burqas so no one could identify them.
Following that video message, a case was filed against Mahua Moitra at the Krishnanagar court on June 17. The complainant, Chayan Nandi, a resident of the Nazirapara area of Krishnanagar, alleged: “What the MP said in her video message hurt people’s religious sentiments. It has also been described as a religiously inflammatory remark, one that is insulting to both religions concerned.”
Moitra’s lawyer told the judge she feared the MP could face harassment outside the court premises if she appeared.
A senior police official said the case against Moitra was filed under Sections 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 196 (promoting enmity between groups), 299 (hurting religious sentiments), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 353(2) (hate speech) of India’s Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The controversy originated in August 2025, when remarks made by Moitra at a press conference in Nadia about infiltration across the India-Bangladesh border sparked backlash.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report