A folk singer of Uttarakhand, who posted a song on social media purportedly targeting the state government, has been booked after a complaint claimed that its lyrics showed disrespect to women.

  The case was registered against Garhwali folk singer Pawan Semwal at Patel Nagar police station under BNS sections 353 (statements conducive to public mischief), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of women and 196 (promoting enmity between groups),Station House Officer Chandrabhan Singh Chauhan said on Monday.

Semwal was brought from Delhi and questioned by the police on Sunday. He was let off after being served a notice, the police officer said.

The case was lodged on the complaint by Dehradun resident Manju Lal, who alleged that some of the lines of the song uploaded on a YouTube channel as well as the singer’s Facebook account were offensive towards women, the SHO said.

The singer removed the song from social media following the police action.

Criticising the police action against the singer, chief of the state’s Congress unit Karan Mahara said it shows the BJP government’s attitude of intolerance towards dissent.

“It shows that the BJP government cannot tolerate criticism. Action has been taken against the singer because the song is critical of the government," Mahara said.

The song allegedly attacked the state government on issues like liquor shops, unemployment and crimes against women.

Semwal was asked to appear before the police whenever required during the investigation into the case and desist from such acts in future, the SHO said.