The Parksite police on Wednesday arrested a Vikhroli resident for allegedly posting comments on social media against the Brahmin community and referring to Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP’s candidate from Bhopal, as a terrorist.
The police said Sunil Nishad (38) was arrested after a complaint was filed by Ravindra Tiwari, a resident of Varsha Nagar, on May 11.
Senior police inspector Vilas Jadhav said, “Mr. Nishad was charged with committing deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs under the Indian Penal Code. He was granted bail by court on Thursday.”
Mr. Jadhav refuted reports that Mr. Nishad has also been booked for similar offences or indulged in similar activities in the past.
As news spread through Facebook and Twitter on Thursday, people lashed out at the police for arresting Mr. Nishad but letting Ms. Thakur go.
Ms. Thakur on Thursday was quoted as referring to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, as a patriot. She had earlier come under fire for her unsavoury comments on 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare.
DCP (Zone VII) Akhilesh Singh said, “In cases where religious sentiments of a community are hurt due to someone’s social media post, we have to follow the law by arresting people targeting a particular section of society or a person.”