A history professor at Delhi University’s Hindu College was detained Friday night for allegedly questioning reports of a ‘Shivling’ unearthed within Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque complex, according to police.
Ratan Lal, an assistant professor, was detained by police from the Cyber Police Station in north Delhi.
He is accused of inciting religious hatred amongst communities and performing “acts harmful to the preservation of unity.”
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Following a police complaint from a Delhi-based lawyer, an FIR was filed against Mr Lal on Tuesday night. Mr Lal recently tweeted a “derogatory, inflammatory, and offensive tweet on the Shivling,” according to counsel Vineet Jindal’s suit.
Mr Lal’s tweet is “instigating and inciting,” according to the lawyer who filed the case. He stated that the matter is very sensitive and is now before the court.
In defence of his position, Mr Lal had previously said, “If you say anything in India, someone’s feelings would be hurt. So there’s nothing new here. As a historian, I’ve made several observations.
I used highly cautious wording in my article when I wrote things down, and I continue to do so. I’m going to protect myself.”
Mr Lal tweeted last week that his 20-year-old son was getting threats on Facebook Messenger due to his post on the Gyanvapi mosque.
Mr Lal is the creator and editor-in-chief of Ambedkarnama, a news platform dedicated to Dalit concerns and his teaching position. “Activist, writer, and a child of the Ambedkariate Revolution,” according to his Twitter account.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh has denounced the detention of the professor.
“The arrest of Prof Ratn Lal is very unacceptable. He has the constitutional right to freedom of speech and opinion, “He tweeted
