A Dalit teenager in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region was arrested on Saturday for posting an allegedly derogatory photo of Lord Hanuman on his WhatsApp account.
According to police, Bajrang Dal member Hemraj Thakur filed a complaint on Friday against the 17-year-old for hurting his and other villagers’ religious sentiments by posting a picture of Lord Hanuman seated along with BR Ambedkar in which the deity was saying some words of apology which were objectionable.
Police officer IS Thakur said: “An FIR was lodged for ‘deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, and disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant. The accused has been arrested. Relevant sections of Information Technology Act would be added after preliminary inquiry.”
The incident comes against the backdrop of a controversy over Lord Hanuman’s caste after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, addressing a poll rally in Rajasthan ahead of the December 7 assembly elections, termed the deity a “forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit”.
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