On Tuesday, July 25, the Bihar Police arrested one Shaqib Ahmed (23) of Hajipur in Vaishali district of Bihar for posting derogatory comments and causing insult to Hindu deity Lord Ram on Instagram. The accused who has been arrested under the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code is also said to have insulted the great warrior Maharana Pratap.
According to the complaint copy obtained by OpIndia, the accused identified as Mohammed Shaqib Ahmed is a resident of Masjid Chowk and had posted a derogatory comment on an Instagram post through his Instagram handle itts_shaqib. The post showed a human like figure in an obscene position and the accused happened to name the character as Lord Rama.
– @bihar_police @SpVaishali
— Squint Neon (@TheSquind) July 24, 2023
Shaqib from Hajipur is abusing Shri Ram and Maharana Pratap. Kindly take cognizance and find the person @bajrangdalbihar pic.twitter.com/qFLfVBwD4s
On being informed about the post, the Bihar Police went to the residence of the accused and investigated his electronic devices. The police also interrogated the accused and seized his Realme RMX2151 mobile device.
The police discovered that the accused had also made derogatory comments on Maharana Pratap and boasted Mughal Emperor Akhbar against him. As per the complaint copy, the accused has been arrested under section 295 (A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Further section 67 (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 has also been pressed against the accused.
It is important to note that the arrest was made after social media activist Ashwini Shrivastava and the Bajrang Dal members took cognizance of the event and protested against the derogatory post. As per Shrivastava, members of the Bajrang Dal in Hajipur also reached the police station and demanded quick arrest of the accused.
Accordingly, the police initiated the action and the accused was nabbed from his home in Masjid Chowk, Hajipur, Bihar.
Breaking news#HAJIPUR police have arrested Shaqib Ahmed 23 years for abusing Bhagwan Ram and Maharana Pratap on Instagram.
— Ashwini Shrivastava (@AshwiniSahaya) July 25, 2023
Ashwini Shrivastava (me) and Bajrang Dal District President Aryan Singh Bhaiya led 100+ sanatanis to the police station and demanded the arrest of Shaqib pic.twitter.com/ODYJnMrJgy
While talking exclusively to OpIndia, Shrivastava said that he was informed about the derogatory post by some social media users after which he verified the incident and demanded the arrest of the accused.
“Such cases are increasing in the country. There are about 10-15 cases occuring per day. People reach me through social media and seek action. It is observed that such cases are mostly spreading through Instagram. The government should take some stringent steps,” he said.
At present, the derogatory posts and comments made by the accused stand deleted. The accused has been arrested and further investigation in the case is underway.
