Kolkata prof arrested for sharing Mamata’s cartoon discharged from case after 10 yrs

Ten years after a criminal case was instituted against a university professor for forwarding a cartoon allegedly aimed at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Alipur Court here on Friday discharged him of the charges.Following the verdict, Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra said his arrest was an attempt to throttle free speech and those who are fighting for democracy will feel encouraged by this verdict.A case was registered against Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra in April 2012 at Purba Jadavpur police station in Kolkata after he forwarded the cartoon to some people through email, and was arrested on April 14, 2012.

Ten years after a criminal case was instituted against a university professor for forwarding a cartoon allegedly aimed at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Alipur Court here on Friday discharged him of the charges.

Following the verdict, Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra said his arrest was an attempt to throttle free speech and those who are fighting for democracy will feel encouraged by this verdict.

A case was registered against Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra in April 2012 at Purba Jadavpur police station in Kolkata after he forwarded the cartoon to some people through email, and was arrested on April 14, 2012. He was later granted bail by a court.

The additional sessions judge, 10th court, acquitted Mahapatra of the charges brought against him during the day.

The judge set aside an order of the chief judicial magistrate of the Alipore court of September 14, 2021, which rejected Mahapatra's prayer for discharge from the case.

Reacting to the verdict, Mahapatra, a professor of chemistry at Jadavpur University here, said, ''This is a victory for democracy. Those who are fighting for democracy will feel encouraged by this verdict. A criminal conspiracy was hatched against me by the police and the state government.'' ''It was an attempt to throttle free speech by the state government and intimidate those who believe in free speech and are critics of those who are in power,'' he said.

The ruling Trinamool Congress declined to attach much importance to the development and said it has nothing to say about the court order.

"Let him enjoy his freedom. But we know very well he has political affiliations and even contested elections,'' TMC MP Sougata Roy told PTI.

Mahapatra had unsuccessfully contested the 2016 assembly elections against the TMC as a Left-supported independent candidate.

''The TMC government doesn't believe in free speech, and the claims that they are fighting for democracy across the country are a hoax. The professor's arrest for forwarding a cartoon is a testimony to it,'' BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said.

Mahapatra had forwarded a cartoon featuring Banerjee and TMC leader Mukul Roy after the latter became Railway Minister replacing Dinesh Trivedi. The cartoon showed the chief minister and Roy exchanging dialogues from Satyajit Ray's 1974 detective movie 'Sonar Kella', which alluded to the change of guard in the ministry.

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