A prosecution witness in the criminal defamation case against BJP’s Mandi MP and Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut was cross-examined in a Bathinda court on Monday.The witness, Gurpreet Singh, is a relative of complainant Mahinder Kaur, an elderly farmer from Bahadurgarh Jandian village here.Advocate RS Behniwal, counsel for Mahinder Kaur, said three prosecution witnesses had been examined so far in the case.The cross-examination of the complainant would be conducted on the next date of hearing, scheduled for September 15, subject to her health condition.Kangana appeared before the court through video conference.Meanwhile, arguments on an application seeking surrender of Kangana’s passport were not held on Monday and remained pending.The case relates to a 2020 tweet in which Ranaut allegedly misidentified Mahinder Kaur as Bilkis Bano, a participant in the Shaheen Bagh protests, and further alleged that such women were “available for Rs 100” to participate in protests.Mahinder Kaur had filed a criminal defamation complaint against the actress in January 2021.


