Lucknow: Sanoj Mishra, the director of the controversial film ''The Diary of West Bengal'', who had been missing for the past eight days, was found in Varanasi, according to the police sources here.
Mishra, who went missing allegedly after being quizzed by the West Bengal police, was found on the Assi Ghat on the bank of the Ganga, sources said.
According to the sources, Mishra, the trailer of whose film had triggered a huge controversy, had been summoned by the Kolkata police after a case was lodged against him in this regard.
Mishra reportedly went to Kolkata but later went missing. He had also allegedly destroyed his cell phone fearing that he could be traced by the police if he kept it with him.
Mishra’s wife had lodged a missing person report and BJP MP and film actress Kangana Ranaut had also urged the West Bengal government to trace Mishra.
Sources said that Mishra’s mental condition was not stable when he was found.
Sources said that Mishra’s wife, who had left for Kolkata, apparently hoping to find him there, received an anonymous call and was told that her husband had been found in Varanasi. She abandoned her journey midway and returned to Varanasi.
Police said that Mishra had been handed over to his family.
Mishra’s family members said that he would hold a press conference when he got well and narrate the circumstances leading to his disappearance.
The movie ‘’Diary of West Bengal’’, which was slated for release on August 30, was set up against the backdrop of the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. The film showed the journey of a Hindu woman, whose husband had been in the genocide, to West Bengal, where she fell prey to ‘’love jihad’’.
There were allegations that the film defamed West Bengal and ‘fatwas’ (religious decree) had also been issued against it by the Muslim clergy. Mishra, who had earlier directed films like ‘’Ram ki Janmabhoomi’ and ‘Gandhigiri’, had also apprehended threats to his life.