According to police, a Delhi University associate professor was arrested Friday night over a social media post claiming to have found a ‘Shivling’ inside Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque complex. Ratan Lal, a Hindu College worker, was arrested by officers from the Cyber Police Station in north Delhi, according to police. He is accused of promoting religious hatred amongst groups and acting in ways that threaten the maintenance of harmony.
Following a police complaint from a Delhi-based lawyer, a FIR was filed against Mr Lal on Tuesday night. ‘Derogatory, inciting and provocative tweet on the Shivling,’ Mr Lal had lately tweeted according to advocate Vineet Jindal’s suit. Mr Lal’s statement on his Twitter account is ‘instigating and provoking’ he said in the complaint.
According to the lawyer, the issue is extremely sensitive and is currently before the court. Defending his post earlier, Mr Lal had said, ‘In India, if you speak about anything, someone or the other’s sentiment will be hurt. So this is nothing new. I am a historian and have made several observations. As I wrote them down, I have used very guarded language in my post and still this. I will defend myself.’
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