FIR Lodged After BJP Leader's Death Threat to Rahul Gandhi: 'Bullets will Pierce his Chest'

Police on Monday filed a charge against BJP leader Printu Mahadevan for allegedly threatening that Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, would be shot at during a television debate.

According to PTI, based on a complaint by Sreekumar C. C., secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), the Peramangalam police opened the case.

The comments were made by Mahadevan, a former leader of the ABVP, during a debate on a Malayalam television station on September 26 while talking about protests in Bangladesh and Nepal.

According to reports, he stated that because Indians firmly supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi, such protests were not feasible in India. He also remarked that if Rahul Gandhi had any such aspirations, "bullets will pierce his chest."  

Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to incite riot), 353 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita are cited in the FIR.

Congressmen protested against Mahadevan and the BJP in Kerala on Monday in response to the remarks.

PTI stated that in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal described the threat as "not just a careless outburst of a petty functionary."  He cautioned that any delay in taking prompt, decisive, and public action would be interpreted as complicity.

"The nation demands immediate, exemplary legal action through the state police so that justice is swift, visible, and severe," he said.

Senior Congress leaders, including MP Shafi Parambil and Ramesh Chennithala, also condemned Mahadevan’s remarks and urged police action.