Kolkata, Aug 13 (IANS) A youth has been arrested in Islampur of North Dinajpur district on charges of making offensive comments about freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, said the police on Thursday.
The arrest came a day after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that no one will be spared for posting such comments. He ordered action against everyone regardless of political affiliation.
Today, the youth was caught in Islampur. Allegedly, he had made objectionable posts against Netaji on social media. The police have begun identifying similar posts across different parts of the state.
The youth arrested in Islampur is Kiran Kumar Das. He is a resident of Jharbari in Chakulia police station area of North Dinajpur. Allegedly, he had recently posted on social media that was disrespectful to Netaji.
On Wednesday, Suvendu Adhikari said from the state secretariat (Nabanna) that the Government is adopting a “zero tolerance” policy for disrespecting Netaji. The Chief Minister also instructed the Cyber Cell accordingly.
After that, activities started in the administrative circles in the districts, and the objectionable comments made against Netaji on social media were tracked. Subsequently, the person responsible for them was identified.
However, it is not yet known under what sections a case has been registered against him. The Chief Minister had said on Wednesday that a case will be registered under the relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in case of such posts and the accused will be arrested.
He had said, “I would like to tell those who have shown such audacity that this audacity is not good. Our West Bengal police are not taking it well. I want to say that they should apologise immediately. Those who have made such posts should delete them. However, deleting the post will not give them relief from the law.”
It is worth noting that a new controversy has arisen regarding Netaji in the wake of the comments made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP in the Rajya Sabha, Nagen Roy alias Anant Maharaj. Recently, he claimed that Netaji had no contribution to India’s independence. Anant even claimed that he misused the Azad Hind Fauj, also known as the Indian National Army (INA).
A controversy erupted after his comments. In this regard, the Chief Minister said, “The law is equal for everyone. The police will find out who is behind such propaganda about Netaji. This will not happen on the soil of West Bengal. Action will be taken against those who made such posts, regardless of political affiliation.”
After that, the first arrest was made in North Dinajpur.
–IANS
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