Kangana Ranaut slapped by CISF security staff at Chandigarh airport

Kangana Ranaut, Bollywood actor and BJP’s MP-elect from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, on Thursday alleged that a CISF security official at Chandigarh Airport slapped her while she was travelling to Delhi.

According to Ranaut, when she was proceeding to the boarding point after the security check, the CISF woman official, Kulwinder Kaur, posted at the frisking area, allegedly argued with her and slapped her.

Kangana's controversial statement about women in Punjab during the farmers' agitation is believed to be the provocation behind the alleged slapping, according to sources.

The constable, Kulwinder Kaur, has been suspended with immediate effect following the incident. An FIR has been filed against her based on the CISF's complaint, officials said. She has been charged with voluntarily causing hurt (IPC 323) and wrongful restraint (IPC 341). Both are bailable offences.

No arrests have been made in the incident.

In a video message posted on X after the incident, Ranaut said that the constable told her that she supports the farmers' protest. The MP-elect asked how we are going to control this rising extremism in Punjab.

"I am safe, I am perfectly fine. The slapping incident that happened at Chandigarh Airport occurred during the security check. When I completed the security check and was waiting to pass the woman security officer, she came towards me, hit me, and started abusing me. When I asked why she did it, she said she supports the farmers. I am safe, but my concern is how to handle this shocking rise in terror and violence in Punjab."

In another video purportedly from the airport, constable Kulwinder can be heard saying, "My mother was also among the protesters when she [Kangana] made these remarks". The constable was detained and taken to the CISF Commandant Office for questioning.

After arriving in Delhi, Kangana met CISF Director General Nina Singh and other senior officials and explained the incident to them.

The incident stirred a loud political row, with several leaders calling for stringent action. Her election rival and Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh called the incident "unfortunate" and condemned it.

"I don't have the entire information about the incident. I have heard in the news that Kangana has been physically assaulted. It is very unfortunate. Such incidents should not happen, especially with women. We strongly condemn this," Singh said.

Kangana defeated Vikramaditya Singh, scion of Rampur state and the incumbent state public works minister, by a margin of 74,755 votes from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency. She became only the fourth woman ever to be elected to Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh, and the first woman who is not from an erstwhile royal family.