Trimool MP Tapas Paul gets bail in hate speech case

Kolkata, June 29: Actor turned Trimool Congress MP Tapas Paul was on Monday granted bail by a West Bengal court in a case over his alleged inflammatory remarks. Charge-sheeted for bailable offences by the CID for his kill-and-rape remark, Paul surrendered before a court in dia district, following which he was granted bail. “Today (Monday), Paul surrendered before the court, which granted him bail on furnishing a persol bond of Rs.5,000,” said a lawyer for the member of parliament. The Crimil Investigation Department (CID) filed the charge sheet in May in the court of additiol chief judicial magistrate (Krishgar), charging Paul under Sections 506 and 509 of the Indian Pel Code. The actor turned politician, who represents Krishgar Lok Sabha constituency, was caught on successive tapes in June last year, exhorting his partymen to kill Marxist workers and threatening to let loose “my boys” to rape their women. Section 509 deals with words, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman and carries a maximum punishment of one-year simple imprisonment. Section 506 deals with crimil intimidation and carries a maximum punishment of seven years if the threat is for causing death, grievous hurt or to impute unchastity to a woman. During rallies held in villages across his constituency in dia district, Paul called on his supporters to slit the throats of Communist Party of India-Marxist activists and threatened to gun down rival political activists. “If a CPI-M man dares to touch anybody, I will take out my gun and shoot him.  (IANS)