Two youths from Mumbai have been arrested for allegedly posting and circulating an offensive post about Goddess Kali on Facebook.
It was a joint operation by the Mumbai police and the Madhya Pradesh police, and they nabbed the duo – identified as Ali Shaikh and Abdul Qureshi – from Mumbai’s Antop Hill. They are in police custody in MP.
According to a report by Indian Express, there was recently an offensive post about Goddess Kali on a Facebook group named Nadaan Parinday. On May 10, several right-wing activists complained about it to the police. The police told the paper that some posts on the Facebook page were critical of Modi.
A ‘Special Investigation Team’ was formed to investigate the matter. This was because the right-wingers had threatened protests and the situation could turn violent.
The two men have been booked under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) and Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony).
There have been various incidents in the past where offensive posts on gods and goddesses have resulted in huge controversies. Here is a look at some of them:
- In March, leading Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi had to apologise after reproducing an ‘offensive’ comment about Prophet Muhammad that was posted on social media as it had invited the ire of several Muslim organisations in Kerala, reports the News Minute.
- In February, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted a cartoon depicting him as Lord Hanuman taking a potshot at Narendra Modi and BJP. It created a huge outrage on social media with several people critising him for insulting the deity.
- In January, a local court in Andhra Pradesh sent summons to cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a magazine cover which had him depicted as Lord Vishnu holding several things, including a shoe in his hands. The case was later quashed by Supreme Court and criminal proceedings against him were dropped.
- In August 2014, activist Teesta Setalvad had to apologise after she tweeted a morphed picture of Goddess Kali with an ISIS member which had then flared a huge controversy, reports DNA.