'Tandav' case probe: UP Police team arrives in Mumbai

A four-member team of UttarPradesh Police arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday to conduct aprobe into a case registered in Lucknow against controversialweb series ''Tandav'', an official said on Wednesday.

The UP Police team is likely to record statements ofthe makers and cast and crew of the Amazon Prime Video'sseries, which has been accused of hurting religious sentimentsfor its depiction of Hindu deities.

The UP Police personnel reached Mumbai in the morningand visited the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police(Detection-1) in suburban Andheri for assistance, the officialsaid.

Two members of the UP Police team also visited theMumbai Police headquarters in south Mumbai in the afternoon.

While at the Mumbai Police headquarters, the UPPolice personnel said they are getting cooperation from theircounterparts hereand ''there is no issue about it''.

''We had come to meet police officers at theheadquarters, we are not authorised to speak,'' an officialfrom the UP Police team said.

On Monday, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's mediaadvisor Shalabhmani Tripathi said the makers of ''Tandav'' willhave to pay the price for hurting religious sentiments.

He said four members of the UP police have left forMumbai for a detailed probe into the case, after an FIR waslodged against the show at the Hazratganj police station.

''UP Police has left for Mumbai, that too in a car.

There are strong sections in the FIR, remain prepared, willhave to pay a price for hurting religious sentiments,''Tripathi said in his tweet.

At least three FIRs have been lodged against themakers and artists of ''Tandav'' in Uttar Pradesh - at Lucknow,Greater Noida and Shahjahanpur - for alleged inappropriatedepiction of UP Police personnel, deities, and adverseportrayal of a character playing prime minister in the show.

''Tandav'', a nine-episode political thriller starringBollywood A-listers Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia and MohdZeeshan Ayyub, started streaming last week.

At the centre of the row is a scene with ZeeshanAyyub, in the role of college student Shiva, playing the Hindugod Mahadev in a theatre production.

As the controversy escalated, the show makers onTuesday tried to defuse the situation by announcing theirdecision to remove the controversial portion from the show.

The cast and crew of the show on Tuesday also saidthey had decided to implement changes to ''address concerns''.

In their second apology statement in two days, theshow's team also thanked the Ministry of Information andBroadcasting for its ''guidance & support'' in the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)