Non-bailable charges were filed against Bengali poet Srijato Bandyopathyay on Wednesday, two days after a college student Arnab Sarkar filed a case against him for his poem on Yogi Adityanath, reported News 18. FIRs have reported been under Section 295 (A) which claims it’s a deliberate and malicious act to outrage religious sentiments and section 67 of the IT Act.

The complaint is a member of the Hindu Samhati, a Hindu rights organisation. Bandyopadhyay is consulting his lawyers for the future course of action. Bandyopadhyay had posted a 12-line poem on his Facebook page on March 19, the day Yogi Adityanath was sworn as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. "He has hurt the feelings of each and every Hindu through the use of distasteful words against the community. I have strong reservations about the last line of the poem where he makes derogatory remarks about trishul and Yogi Adityanath," Sarkar, a member of 'Hindu Samhati', told reporters.

Earlier, reacting to the police complaint, Bandyopadhyay said, "It is really sad that in a country like India, which has been known for his democratic values, the right to freedom of speech and expression is shrinking fast. The majority of people in this country believe in freedom of speech." "Since the poem was posted, I was trolled on Facebook and some of the comments made are very dangerous and threatening in nature," he said.

Tapan Ghosh, President of Hindu Samhati, said that the poem was written on the basis of false information and if the police failed to take action they would move court.

State BJP President Dilip Ghosh supported the 'Hindu Samhati' and said "poets like Srijato don't have any acceptance in the society. They try to stay afloat and remain relevant by writing such useless stuff.""Without knowing Yogi and his administrative capability, how can someone write such derogatory poem about him," Ghosh wondered.Poet Joy Goswami, however, stood by Srijato and said "he was expressing his thoughts through his poem. I have read the poem which has triggered so much controversy, but I like it."Noted writer Srishendu Mukhopadhyay also echoed Goswami's views."It is not right to threaten police action if someone is opposed to your views. There have been similar cases in different parts of the country," Mukhopadhyay said.

With inputs from PTI