A 22-year-old man from Hyderabad was arrested on Thursday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments after sharing a post on Facebook.
According to reports, the man identified as Sandeep, a welder from Shastripuram, shared the post on Wednesday. The Pahadishareef police were said to have made the arrest after receiving a complaint from Syed Babar Shah, a local TRS leader.
Sandeep allegedly shared a picture, which showed an idol of Hindu deity Hanuman placed on top of the Kaaba, Islam’s most holy site in Mecca, according to the complaint filed with the Mailardevpally police.
"I feel it is a very calculated move to incite communal violence and I request your kind authority to take stern action against the culprits in the interest of peace and communal harmony," the complainant stated.
Meanwhile, another complaint was filed by Majeed Ullah Khan, President of the Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) with the Dabeerpura police.
Speaking to TNM, the police said that a case was booked under section 295-A of the IPC, which deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, and Section 153-A, which deals with promoting enmity between different groups.
However, this is not the first such case in the city.
In December last year, several people gathered at Rein Bazaar in the city to protest against an offensive social media post, which they feared would trigger communal tension.
The police booked a case after they were shown the content that was being shared on Facebook and Whatsapp.
In November last year, another similar post had surfaced, when the Santoshnagar police received a complaint about a “blasphemous” post related to the Kaaba being circulated on social media.
The South Zone police registered a case, and even had to use mild force to disperse a crowd that had gathered to demand the arrest of the accused.