Two arrested in Bengal's Hooghly for making 'anti-India' comments

Kolkata, May 10 (IANS) Two persons have been arrested from two places in the Hooghly district of West Bengal on Saturday, over charges of writing "anti-India" posts on social media amid the heightened tension between India and Pakistan over 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian defence forces targeting the terrorist bases in Pakistan, police said.

The two arrested persons have been identified as Sheikh Samsher Ali and Sukur Ali Sarkar.

While Ali has been arrested from Balagarh in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, Sarkar has been arrested from Pandua in the same district.

They were arrested following complaints filed by the West Bengal unit of the BJP after the latter's IT cell noticed some social media posts made by them making highly objectionable anti-India comments maligning Operation Sindoor and the Indian soldiers.

Acting on their complaints, the police started cases against them after registering FIRs and finally arrested the two accused from their residences on Saturday.

"The two accused have been booked under various sections under charges of writing anti-national posts, trying to instigate people by propagating violence, and making attempts to destabilise the sovereignty of the country," said a senior official of the Hooghly district police.

Speaking to the media persons, BJP's Hooghly district organisational president Suresh Sau said that when the entire country is lauding the brave soldiers of the Indian Defence Forces, these two individuals were writing anti-India posts on social media.

"Even one of them wrote a post demanding the destruction of India. Such persons are no less than terrorists who killed innocent Indians at Pahalgam last month," Sau added.

Justifying the arrests, Trinamool Congress legislator from Balagarh Assembly constituency, Monoronjon Byapari, also said that since the nation is above all, no one had the right to make any comments that might hurt public sentiments about India's defence forces.

"The police should always take appropriate action against such offenders," Byapari added.

--IANS

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