Bhubaneswar: One person was arrested on Monday for alleged objectionable and provocative social media posts intended at hurting religious sentiments.
The accused has been identified as Arshad Ali of Jagatsinghpur.
Addressing a presser, Commissioner of Police (CP), Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Commissionerate Police, Suresh Dev Dutta Singh informed that a special campaign was launched against hateful and inflammatory posts on social media over past one week in the aftermath of clashes during Durga idol immersion ceremony in Odisha’s Cuttack city.
“Over 500 such posts were taken down, and several arrests made, resulting in positive outcomes. Many users who had unknowingly shared objectionable content have now become more cautious,” he said.
The CP added, “Despite these efforts, a few offensive posts were still found circulating on social media. Arshad Ali had put up a post of his interaction with some friends which hurt the religious feelings of people. He was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Radhamadav Das of Tangi on October 9. His post was found to be objectionable and capable of inciting communal tension. Although he had later apologised, by that time, the content was already circulated widely. Hence, he has been booked under relevant sections of the IT Act, hate speech laws, and provisions related to promoting religious enmity and disturbing national integration.”
He also warned people against circulating such provocative posts.
This came a day after four more persons were arrested in connection with the clashes, which broke out between 1.30 am and 2 am on October 4 near Haathi Pokhari in the Dargah Bazar area during the idol immersion procession, taking the total to 13.
According to the police, the four persons were apprehended based on video footage and eyewitness accounts.
The Commissionerate Police also held peace committee meetings with community heads, local public representatives and people of different communities to ensure a peaceful and violence-free celebration during Kali Puja, Kartikeswar Puja and Bali Jatra lined up over the next one month.