Ghaziabad councillor held for posting objectionable picture of CM Yogi on Facebook
Apart from the provisions of the IT Act, the police also booked Chauhan under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The executive magistrate did not grant him bail and sent him to judicial custody instead. In a similar incident in Greater Noida, the police arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly posting objectionable content against UP chief minister on his Facebook wall on March 23. The police arrested Rahat Khan on the basis of a complaint filed by members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini.
The Ghaziabad police have arrested a Nagar Palika councillor from Loni and charged him with posting a derogatory photograph of chief minister Yogi Adityanath on his Facebook wall. The man was later sent to judicial custody following an FIR filed by Hindu Yuva Vahini, an organisation founded by the monk-turned-politician in 2002.
The FIR against Ramkumar Chauhan was filed at Loni Border police station by Satendra Bansal, the district convener of Hindu Yuva Vahini. Chauhan is a councillor from ward 22 at Loni and the same is also mentioned in his Facebook profile.
“The FIR was filed after we noticed that he posted a photoshopped picture of the (UP) chief minister on his Facebook page. We immediately approached police and filed the complaint. His mobile phones have also been seized,” Bansal said.
According to the police, the Facebook post was deleted and the snapshot preserved for further investigation.
“The photograph was morphed with the help of a photo editing software and posted on Facebook. We filed an FIR under relevant sections of the IT Act and arrested the councillor. We will now find out how he obtained the picture and whether any more people were involved in the act,” Srikant Prajapati, circle officer (Loni), said.
Apart from the provisions of the IT Act, the police also booked Chauhan under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The executive magistrate did not grant him bail and sent him to judicial custody instead.
However, Chauhan’s Facebook page also has several posts and pictures hailing the newly elected chief minister and opposing cow slaughter. Responding to one such post which had a picture of the UP chief minister, a follower also advised him to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“BJP join kar le (Join BJP),” said his friend Kuldeep Singh in response to the Facebook post.
In a similar incident in Greater Noida, the police arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly posting objectionable content against UP chief minister on his Facebook wall on March 23. The police arrested Rahat Khan on the basis of a complaint filed by members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini.
