Kolhapur man arrested for social media status on Tipu Sultan, calling him ‘India’s king’

KOLHAPUR: The police have arrested a resident of the Kagal town of Kolhapur district for using Tipu Sultan's image with the caption 'Bharat Ka Raja' (King of India) as his social media status, stating the action has caused enmity between communities.
On Sunday evening, the image of the status had gone viral. Some members of right-wing outfits then marched on the Kagal police station demanding the arrest. Following an inquiry, the cops took the 29-year-old into custody and then arrested him.
Meanwhile, the right-wing members sent out messages on social media calling for a Kagal bandh.
Ishwar Omase, the inspector of the Kagal police station, said: "We immediately interacted with the members and assured them that action has been taken. We appealed to them to not call a bandh. They had already circulated messages to people, asking them to congregate at the main chowk of the town. However, we made them aware of the legal repercussions of their actions."
On Monday, only a few shops in the town stayed shut. The rest of the town was unaffected, mainly because it was the weekly fair day and local traders did not want to lose their business.
"We ensured the presence of more than 100 personnel on the field - some conducting nakabandi and others on patrol duty," said Omase.
Father of Kagal youth arrested for Tipu Sultan's post expelled from Jamiat for one year
Father of accused suspended from religious council
Meanwhile, the father of the 29-year-old arrested for posting Tipu Sultan's image as social media status, has been removed from the religious council of the town.
Members of the Kagal Muslim Jamiat gave a letter to police inspector Ishwar Omase, stating the Muslim community has nothing to do with the posts and remarks made by some youths of their community. One of the members of the Jamiat, which is a body of Muslim representatives formed to organise various religious events and take decisions on important religious matters, told TOI that the expulsion is not ostracism. It is only a deterrent action, he said.
"The man has two sons. Both the sons had earlier been warned against trying to disturb the religious harmony. We believe in co-existence with people from all communities. The father was told to control his sons, but he failed. Therefore, we have expelled him from the Jamiat for a year."
According to the local resident, the 29-year-old used to post objectionable content online.