A 23-year-old man from Gujarat’s Kutch area was detained in Maharashtra on Saturday for allegedly hurting religious sensibilities with an “objectionable” social media post about a Hindu goddess. Bharat Rupani, the accused, was apprehended by Kutch (West) Local Crime Branch (LCB) personnel from Talmod in Maharashtra after an FIR was lodged against him at Bhuj A-division police station for uploading an inappropriate photo of goddess Ashapura, a local deity, on Facebook. The applicant in the complaint said that the content offended his religious sentiments.
Rupani was charged under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different communities) and 295A (deliberate and malicious intent to offend religious sentiments). The local crime branch of Kutch said, “LCB Kutch (West) formed a team to investigate the case. Through technical surveillance and human intelligence, it was found that the accused, hailing from Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district, was staying at Talmod border in neighboring Maharashtra.”
The accused was picked up and handed over to the Bhuj A-division police station, which arrested him on Friday. Further investigation was underway in this case.
It is notable that, in India, the cases of hurting religious sentiments over a social media post about deities of different religions are increasing day by day. Even supporting someone who is allegedly accused of blasphemy has become a cause for issuing death threats. In Udaipur, a Hindu tailor Kanhaiya Lal was beheaded by two Islamists for supporting Nupur Sharma in a social media post. Nupur Sharma is accused of making allegedly insulting remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. Similarly, Umesh Kolhe, a chemist from Amravati was beheaded for supporting Nupur Sharma in a social media post.
