An autorickshaw driver from Karnataka's Bailur was arrested after a morphed photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was posted on a Whatsapp group he administered.
30-year-old Krishna Sannatamma Naik is the group administrator of 'D Balse Boys' and was arrested after another member Ganesh Naik posted the photograph, that reportedly was "obscene" and "ugly." The third accused Bala Krishna who allegedly responded to the post encouraging it is reportedly on the run.
The Times of India reports that while Krishna Sannatamma Naik is a BJP worker, Ganesh Naik is aligned to the Congress. Anand Manjunath Naik, said to be a BJP worker, lodged a police complaint against the accused, after which they were booked under the IT Act.
Uttara Kannada SP Vinayak Patil told The News Minute that two separate cases have been filed against the accused, one under the IT Act and the other one for assault.
"After the photograph was posted, two villagers approached the group admin and asked to take the post down. However, he assaulted the two villagers. Later, two members of the Whatsapp group raised objection and the three accused assaulted them," Patil said.
The Times of India reports that Anand filed a police complaint against Ganesh and Bala Krishna. The police later arrested Krishna (the group admin) holding him accountable for any posts in the group.
A joint order issued by Varanasi District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra and Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari had stated that the group administrator would be held accountable for any factually incorrect, rumour or misleading information.