Munmun Dutta Booked Under SC/St Act for Use of Casteist Slur

Munmun faced backlash on social media for using the slur in a recent video

Actor Munmun Dutta booked under SC/ST act

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chasmah actor Munmun Dutta, who plays the role of Babita ji, has reportedly been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for using a casteist slur in a video. The FIR was registered at Hissar, Haryana by Dalit rights activist Rajat Kalsan.

In a video, Munmun talked about her make-up and used the casteist slur to remark that she didn't want to look like them. After several people on social media called her out for the same, she issued an apology statement. The statement read, "This is in reference to a video that I posted yesterday where in one word used by me has been misinterpreted. It was never said with the intent of insult, intimidate, humiliate or hurt anyone's feelings."

"Because of my language barrier, I was genuinely misinformed about the meaning of the word. Once I was made aware of its meaning I immediately took the part down. I have utmost respect for every single person from every caste, creed or gender and acknowledge their immense contribution to our Society or nation," she added.

For the uninitiated, the term used by Munmun is one of many used as a derogatory term for Dalit communities, especially for those involved in sanitation work.

Several Twitter users criticized Munmun for contributing to the normalization of such terms and demanded accountability. #ArrestMunmunDutta had also started trending on Twitter.