Overview
- Police in Sangli registered an FIR against music composer-filmmaker Palash Muchhal under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, with officers saying the investigation is underway and teams have been sent to find the accused.
- Complainant Vigyan (Vidnyan) Mane alleges he gave Rs 25 lakh for a film called Nazariya and says Muchhal used casteist slurs during a confrontation in Sangli on November 22, 2025.
- Officials cited Section 3(1) of the SC/ST Act and related penal provisions reported as Sections 351(2) and 352, which cover caste-based abuse and associated offenses and trigger a formal criminal inquiry.
- Muchhal’s lawyer denies the atrocity allegation and calls the case a publicity or pressure tactic, noting a separate defamation suit against Mane and a Bombay High Court order restraining Mane’s statements in February.
- The dispute has drawn extra attention due to Muchhal’s called-off wedding with cricketer Smriti Mandhana, while he has posted temple-visit photos with comments disabled as police and courts continue to handle the case.