Gita Pandey of Dzire for Life Arrested for Alleged Extortion; FIR Lists 12 BNS Sections

Self styled social activist Gita Pandey, president of the NGO Dzire for Life, was arrested by Cachar Police on Thursday (December 4), for allegedly extorting money and making objectionable remarks against the police and judiciary. An FIR filed against her lists 12 separate sections under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), covering offences from extortion and cheating of the public to public mischief, intimidation, and threats.

On Wednesday, December 3, Ratna Paul, a vegetable vendor and owner of Sabji Shop No. 78 at Fatak Bazar, Silchar, lodged an FIR accusing Gita Pandey (alias Gita Sharma) of extorting Rs 20,000 from her about a month ago. Paul alleged that Pandey took the money after assuring she would help vacate her shop from unlawful occupation by another person. However, despite receiving the amount, Pandey allegedly neither vacated the shop nor returned the money, which the complainant described as cheating through fraudulent misrepresentation.

Speaking to Barak Bulletin, Cachar Senior SP Partha Pratim Das confirmed the arrest and said that multiple FIRs had been filed against Pandey. “She is arrested and will be produced in court,” he said, adding that she is currently in police custody.

After her arrest, Gita Pandey said she has no idea why the police were taking her. She claimed she was taken by force from her home and stated that she was unaware of the situation at that moment.

According to the FIR, the case has been registered under 12 sections of the BNS — 111(3), 111(4), 111(5), 111(6), 117, 296, 308(5), 318(4), 351(2), 353, 356(3), and 61(2). These cover allegations of criminal defamation of the judiciary and police institutions, extortion and cheating, criminal conspiracy and organised crime, public mischief, intimidation and threats, and creating distrust in legal institutions.

The FIR further states that Pandey circulated a video on social media claiming that the judiciary and police “act only in exchange of money”, allegedly defaming and scandalising these institutions and lowering the reputation of the justice delivery system before the public.

In the FIR, the social media video mentioned is possibly the Facebook Live that Gita Pandey posted a few days earlier, in which she addressed the allegations circulating against her. In that live session, she dismissed the accusations as false and tried to justify her actions by saying she often spends money from her own pocket while helping people. She also made remarks implying that “everybody takes money”, from the judiciary to the police, a statement that immediately drew public criticism. This video, which appeared to provoke distrust in legal institutions, was later referenced in the FIR filed by Ratna Paul.

Dzire for Life, the NGO headed by Pandey, has been involved in various activities in the past, some of which attracted public attention. However, recent allegations circulating online claim that the organisation has been collecting money from people under false promises.