Punjab Police has formally filed a petition with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting demanding to stop the documentary series ‘Lawrence of Punjab’ releasing on ZEE5 on April 27. In an official letter, Special Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) V. Neeraja has requested the central government ministry citing Section 69A (1) of the Information Technology Act. He has asked the ministry to immediately stop the streaming of this new web series and remove its trailer from the entire global platform. However, no official response has yet come from the ministry on this request.
Police officials say that this documentary series is based on the life of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. In this, organized crime has been shown to be very big and attractive. Especially in 2022, incidents like the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala have been presented in a dramatic manner. Police fear that this will make violence common and normal. Police have warned that such audio-visual content coming on OTT platforms (like Zee5) spreads very far and very fast. It can have a negative impact on the minds of easily impressionable youth. Besides, it can also affect the ongoing cases in the court and worsen the law and order situation in the entire state.
Letter written to PM Modi to stop documentary series
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Waring has also adopted a very strict stance in this matter. He has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a complete ban on this series. Waring has called it a ‘slap for the entire Punjab’. He has also recently filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. In this he has said that linking a criminal person with the heritage and identity of Punjab is an insult to ‘Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat’. Waring argues that the real identity of Punjab should be formed by the sacrifices of freedom fighters and farmers like Bhagat Singh, and not by the culture of hooliganism and crime.
What did Zee5 say in defence?
He said that this series is not entertainment but a dangerous provocation to attract the youth towards the world of crime. On the other hand, Riverland Entertainment and Zee5, the company making this series, have defended it. Zee5’s Hindi business head Kaveri Das said that this documentary series has not been made to glorify any individual. Rather, its aim is to understand the entire ‘ecosystem’ in which student politics, media and digital criminal syndicates influence each other. Made by director Raghav Dar, he is calling this series a sociological study, which throws light on the shortcomings and consequences of the system. But Amarinder Singh Raja Waring does not agree with these claims. He said that showing the story of a person belonging to Rajasthan in this way will give a wrong message to the next generation. He stressed that it is very important to protect the true identity of Punjab from glorification of violence and crime through media.
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