“The song is purely my creation and highlights my thoughts. I must say that nothing is sponsored and politically driven,” says Neha Singh Rathore, the Bhojpuri folk singer who has been served a notice by the UP Police for her satirical song ‘UP Mein Ka Ba 2.0’.
Speaking to News18, Rathore said: “I want to make it clear that I am not associated with any political party. It was purely my commitment towards my fans because of which I made this song and will continue to do so in future.”
Rathore, a social media influencer, gained fame with the song ‘UP Mein Ka Ba’ but ran into trouble with the UP Police when she released a rehashed version of it.
The singer, whose song has received around 2,61,253 views so far, has a following of around 8,73,000 on YouTube, 1,46,700 on Twitter and around 69,000 on Instagram.
In the notice, UP Police has stated that the song — which highlights the recent Kanpur Dehat eviction drive incident where two women were burnt alive — has created enmity and tension in society and hence, Rathore is required to clear her stand on the issue and file a reply within three days of receiving the notice.
“Is singing a song in UP a crime?”
The singer asked if singing a song in UP was a crime. “Why are my husband and I being treated like criminals? It was just a satirical song highlighting the plight of UP, especially the Kanpur Dehat eviction drive incident that moved us all,” Rathore told News18.
She also blamed the police for harassing her in-laws who reside in Ambedkar Nagar district. “Not just us, police also served notice to my in-laws who reside in Ambedkar Nagar. It is sheer harassment,” she said.
Rathore added that the viral video of the Kanpur Dehat incident left her shocked and spurred her to highlight the incident in a satirical way. “I then wrote the song ‘UP Mein Ka Ba’ Season 2. But I still don’t understand what UP Police found objectionable in it,” she said.
The folk singer said she was in touch with her lawyers and would file her response soon.
Legal experts called the issuance of notice under Section 160CrPC as a procedural lapse on the part of UP Police. “The notice to the Bhojpuri folk singer was issued under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The section, however, states that notice under this can only be issued by a cop making an investigation within the limits of his own police station or any adjoining police station. No such notice could have been issued for this singer residing in Delhi. In addition, lodging an FIR is mandatory for such investigation and issuance of 160, which has not been lodged yet,” said senior lawyer S Mohammed Haider, who hails from Lucknow.
The singer first gained fame in 2022 when she released her song ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. She had earlier received praise for her song ‘Bihar Mein Ka Ba’ released in 2020. The singer is also known for her satire on leading politicians like Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav.
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