BENGALURU — A man, who purportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
residence should be bombed, has been arrested in Karnataka, police said on
Tuesday.
According to the police, the accused, identified as
Nawaz, made the objectionable statement against Prime Minister Modi in a video
and uploaded it on his social media account named 'Public Servant'.
In the video, which went viral, Nawaz said, "Today,
India and Pakistan are at war. Why hasn’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
residence bombed yet? When people were living peacefully, this war like
situation was created by PM Modi. His residence should be bombed first."
Taking cognisance of the matter, the Bandepalya Police
registered an FIR and tracked down the accused. He has been remanded to
judicial custody and sent to Bengaluru Central jail.
Earlier, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against a
postgraduate student for allegedly posting a message opposing 'Operation
Sindoor' launched by the Indian armed forces in retaliation for a terrorist
attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 people were killed.
The Konaje Police in Mangaluru city filed the FIR based
on a complaint in this regard.
According to police, the student, hailing from Mangaluru
district, posted an Instagram message criticising 'Operation Sindoor'. The post
opposed the strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan.
Reshma N. Bariga, a resident of Belalu near Belthangady
town in Mangaluru district and a student of Mangaluru University, made the
objectionable post.
"She used the hashtag ‘#dikkaraoperationSindoora’
(Down with Operation Sindoor) after writing poetic lines about the futility of
war. In her poem, written in Kannada, she stated that the outcome of war is
'total darkness'," police said.
The post stirred controversy, prompting Reshma to delete
it. However, she later made another post defending her earlier stance opposing
'Operation Sindoor'.
Based on the complaint, the police have registered an FIR
under Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot),
196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds such as religion,
race, place of birth, residence, or language, and acts prejudicial to the maintenance
of harmony), 353(1)(b) and 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) of
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Following the backlash, Reshma issued a new statement
expressing her respect and love for her country.
