Marathi Actress Ketaki Chitale Embroiled in Controversy Again, Faces FIR for Remarks on SC/ST Act

Additionally, she criticized the Maratha reservation movement led by Manoj Jarange Patil, calling it a 'fool's fair'.

Ketaki Chitale

Mumbai- Marathi actress, Ketaki Chitale finds herself in hot water once more. The actress who faced jail time in 2022 for making objectionable remarks about NCP chief Sharad Pawar, is now embroiled in another controversy.

Chitale has sparked controversy with her recent remarks, suggesting that the SC/ST Act has been exploited as a means to extort money.

Speaking at the 'Brahmin Ekya Parishad' conference at Parli in Maharashtra's Beed district on February 25, Chitale allegedly called for scrutiny of cases registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the last five years to check how many of them were genuine.

Following her statements, a complaint was filed against her by one Premnath Jagatkar.

The controversial statement targeted Scheduled Caste people, with the actress suggesting that they have made a business of extorting money by filing cases under the SC/ST Act, and demanded it be abolished.

During the programme, she claimed that filing false cases under the SC/ST Act has become a racket and demanded an investigation into all such cases filed in the last 5 years. The Marathi actress commented that "SC ST Act has become a business to earn money by filing cases under various sections. It's a complete racket. Many false cases are filed."

Additionally, she criticized the Maratha reservation movement led by Manoj Jarange Patil, calling it a 'fool's fair'. On Friday (March 1, 2024), a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Ketaki Chitale under sections 295A (outraging religious feelings) and 502(2) (enmity between classes) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint was lodged by Premnath Jagatkar.

Chitale had faced arrest in 2022 for allegedly sharing a derogatory post about NCP chief Sharad Pawar on social media. She had reportedly shared a poem written on Pawar, in which he was described as a person who hates Brahmins. At that time, cases were registered against the actress in several police stations in Mumbai and its suburbs. She later got bail.