New Delhi, July 25:  Accomplished Bengali film and theatre actor Kaushik Sen, one of the 49 signatories who penned a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on lynchings, claimed that he became the subject of death threats after his name appeared in the letter. Mob Lynching in India: Anurag Kashyap, Konkona Sen Sharma, Mani Ratnam and 46 Others Write Open Letter to PM Narendra Modi.

"Yesterday I received a call from an unknown number, where I was threatened of dire consequences if I don't stop raising my voice against lynchings and intolerance. I was told that I would be killed if I don't mend my ways," Sen told PTI. Police is looking into the matter, said reports.

"To be honest, I am not bothered about such calls. I have also informed other signatories about the call and forwarded them the number," Sen responded.

Celebrities of the likes of Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam and Konkona Sen Sharma, have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed their concerns over the growing the cases of lynching in India. The letter is dated July 23 and addressed directly to the Prime Minister.

"Dear Prime Minister, we as peace loving and proud Indians, are deeply concerned about a number of tragic events that have been happening in recent times in our beloved country," the letter begins.

"Our constitution describes India as a secular socialist democratic republic where citizens of all religion, ethnicities, gender and castes are equal," they said.

The letter further said: "The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reports that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 25, 2019 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).