India child rights body asks Netflix to stop streaming 'Bombay Begums'

An Indian government agency has asked Netflix to immediately stop streaming its new drama series "Bombay Begums" after it reviewed complaints around scenes showing children consuming drugs.

In a letter to Netflix late on Thursday, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the US streaming giant to investigate the matter and submit a report within 24 hours, or face further action.

The NCPCR notice referred to a tweet where a user objected to a scene showing "minors having (drugs)".

"The series with this type of content will not only pollute the young minds of children, and may also result in abuse and exploitation of children," the NCPCR notice said.

Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.

Released this week, Bombay Begums is a series about five women from different parts of society trying to get ahead in modern Mumbai, formerly called Bombay.

The controversy is the latest to hit video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in India, where they have faced complaints also around promoting obscenity or hurting religious sentiments. Industry executives say such complaints go against freedom of speech and expression in the country.