Tamil Nadu youth arrested for anti-RSS post on Facebook

The Tamil Nadu police on Thursday arrested 21-year-old I Mohamed Aslam for reportedly posting a hate message against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Facebook.

According to a  report in The Hindu, Aslam had in a post on Facebook, said that activities of the RSS, which according to him included attempts to convert Muslim women, were rising in his district.

The report quotes Tamil Nadu Superintendent of Police NM Mylvahanan saying “Aslam was arrested on a complaint from P Munithurai, 27, who runs an omni-van service for school students at Kilakarai, under Sections 295(A) of the IPC (malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (sending offensive messages).”

Aslam in his post had reportedly also warned Muslim women against using the van owned by Munithurai, even though Munithurai, according to the report, was not associated with any Hindu outfit.

Before arresting him, the police sought legal opinion on whether his message was a violation of Section 295(A) of the IPC or not. He was then produced before a magistrate court and placed in judicial custody in a juvenile home near Madurai.

Last month, an anti-Narendra Modi comment on Facebook saw an FIR being lodged against 31-year-old shipbuilding professional Devu Chodankar, with the police suspecting a “larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the state”.

The Congress party in Goa condemned the state police action against Chodankar, claiming that it was a blow to freedom of speech. “We condemn the action. There is no freedom of speech in the BJP-ruled state. The police is working under political influence,” Goa Congress spokesman Durgadas Kamat had said.