Varanasi Police serves notice to folk singer Neha Singh Rathore over 2025 Modi remarks

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi have served folk singer and political satirist Neha Singh Rathore with a formal notice to facilitate the filing of a chargesheet in a 2025 case accusing her of making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Officials at Lanka police station said the notice was issued on Wednesday as part of routine legal procedure in a year-old first information report. Station in-charge Rajkumar Sharma said the action was strictly in line with the law and rejected allegations of harassment or irregular conduct.

Rathore, however, reacted angrily on social media, accusing authorities of targeting her for her political views. Writing on X, she criticised visits by Varanasi police to her Lucknow residence, which followed a separate summons from Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station.

“The effort and speed with which I am being harassed — I wish the same urgency was shown in securing justice for Patna’s daughter,” she wrote, adding: “This is how daughters get ‘saved’. Shame.”

The case in Varanasi forms part of a wider legal controversy surrounding Rathore’s satirical songs and social media posts critical of the prime minister and his government. The singer, known for her folk-style political commentary, drew attention after posting content in which she allegedly referred to Modi as a “coward” and compared him to British-era officer General Dyer.

These remarks prompted complaints from several social organisations, including Shri Hanuman Sena and the Sadhana Foundation. By May 2025, police said more than 500 complaints had been filed across 15 police stations in Varanasi, leading to multiple FIRs under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to threats to national unity and public order.

The controversy intensified following a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in April 2025, in which 26 tourists were killed. Rathore posted comments accusing the Modi government of exploiting such attacks for electoral gain, drawing parallels with the 2019 Pulwama attack. That post led to a separate FIR being registered in Lucknow, including charges of sedition.

Lucknow police are continuing their investigation into the Pahalgam-related post. Rathore challenged the FIR in court and, on 7 January this year, secured interim protection from arrest from the Supreme Court.

While police insist their actions are procedural, Rathore and her supporters argue that the cases amount to an attempt to silence dissent. The developments have reignited debate over free speech, political satire and the use of criminal law against critics of the government.

With PTI input