UP civic chief offers Rs 1 crore for TMC MP's beheading, later calls video fake

A purported video of a BJP municipal chairman from Sikandrabad in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district is going viral, in which he is allegedly seen announcing a reward of Rs 1 crore for beheading Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh.

However, in a statement issued later, the civic body chief, Pradeep Dixit, claimed the video had been manipulated to malign his image.

In the viral video, the Sikandrabad Nagar Palika chairman is allegedly seen during a protest organised by Hindu groups announcing a reward of Rs 1 crore for anyone who beheaded the Trinamool Congress MP, further intensifying the political atmosphere.

Hindu organisations alleged that Saayoni Ghosh had shared an objectionable social media post related to Lord Shiva and the Shivling, hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community.

A protest over the issue was organised in Sikandrabad on Sunday, attended by several people.

During the protest, a video was recorded in which Pradeep Dixit was allegedly heard saying, “Whoever brings Saayoni Ghosh’s severed head will be given a cash reward of Rs 1 crore from my side.”

The video and related social media posts have since gone viral.

When contacted over the viral video, Pradeep Dixit denied making any such statement. He claimed the footage was from a procession held on Sunday and alleged that miscreants had tampered with the video using AI technology to spread it online. He said, “I have not made any such statement.”

In 2015, a derogatory tweet about Lord Shiva posted from Saayoni Ghosh’s X account stirred a major row, with many accusing her of hurting religious sentiments.

Six years later, after she joined politics, former Bengal BJP chief and ex-governor of three northeastern states Tathagata Roy filed a complaint against her at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sarobar police station.

In the complaint, he wrote: “I am a devotee of Lord Shiva. In 1996, I undertook the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra on foot to offer prayers to Shiva. Seeing this image shared by actress Saayoni Ghosh has hurt my religious sentiments. I request you to investigate the matter and take necessary action against her.”

Saayoni issued a clarification soon after, claiming that her account had been hacked, but the controversy showed no signs of fading away.

During the 2021 Assembly elections, she came under constant attack from the BJP over the derogatory image of Lord Shiva shared from her X profile.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where she contested from the Jadavpur constituency, opponents again targeted her over the same issue.

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