A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly posting hateful messages and objectionable photographs against a community on social media, police said Monday. The messages and photos have since been removed from the internet, police added.
According to the police, a complaint was registered at Songadh Police Station in Tapi District against Bhushan Soni, a resident of the city’s Ramaniya Park Society, after a complaint was filed on charges of hurting religious sentiments by posting alleged hate messages and objectionable photographs on Facebook. by one Hayat Khan Pathan, a resident of Akshanagar, on Sunday.
Soni’s post, police said, had been shared multiple times on different social media groups, after which several people came to the Songadh police station and asked the police to take strict action against the defendants.
Songadh Police Inspector HC Gohil said: “Soni was arrested on Sunday for posting a hateful post on her Facebook page. You have deleted the messages from your account by following our instructions. We found out that about a year ago, he had also put those hateful messages and pictures on his Facebook page. At that time, no police report was registered and local residents strictly told him not to indulge in such activity. “
The defendant, the police added, works in a textile factory in Surat but is a resident of Songadh.
The police have registered the crime in IPC 153 (A) for promoting enmity between different groups for reasons of religion, race, place of birth, residence and language, and 295 (A) for deliberate and malicious acts, aimed at outrage religious sentiments of any kind by insulting their religion or religious beliefs.
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