Indian government agency calls police on Netflix’s Bombay Begums

A government agency in India which represents child rights has called on police in the country to investigate a new Netflix show.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) alleges that the Netflix series Bombay Begums, a series released last week about five women from various walks of life in the titular city, violates laws meant to protect children.

According to letters seen by Reuters, the agency has asked Netflix to remove five scenes which are allegedly “objectionable” and are deemed unlawful. The agency’s chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has also sent a letter to Mumbai’s chief of police, asking him to “investigate/inquire and take deemed lawful necessary action.”

According to the NCPCR, the highlighted scenes involve children “snorting drugs and taking indecent pictures and selfies in the classroom.”
The agency initially asked Netflix to take the series down following its debut last week, but the streamer is yet to act. 

This is the latest incident involving a US streaming company in India, which is increasingly tightening the screws in terms of regulation and censorship.

Last week, India’s supreme court ruled in favour of a screening mechanism for the content of streaming platforms, while the country’s government ruled to place streaming platforms under the  regulatory supervision of the country’s ministry of information and broadcasting last November.