Gujarat tribal arrested for ‘endangering sovereignty’ after he ‘praised’ Naxal commander Hidma on Instagram reel
Police said that Paresh Rathwa's social media account had been under the scanner of the Chhota Udepur Special Operations Group (SOG)
The tribal youth, identified as Paresh Rathwa (31) from Kawant taluka, had allegedly made the reel earlier this week, and was arrested on Wednesday. (Special Arrangement) The Gujarat police have arrested a man from Chhota Udepur district for “endangering the sovereignty of India” by allegedly praising senior Naxal commander Madvi Hidma as a “freedom fighter” in an Instagram reel.
The alleged post came about a month after Hidma was killed in an operation by the Andhra Pradesh police. The tribal youth, identified as Paresh Rathwa (31) from Kawant taluka, had allegedly made the reel earlier this week, and was arrested on Wednesday.
Police said that Rathwa’s social media account had been under the scanner of the Chhota Udepur Special Operations Group (SOG), which came across the alleged post. According to the FIR lodged at Kawant police station, Rathwa had posted the reel on November 25, which was noticed by the SOG on Tuesday while scanning through accounts of influencers on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Whatsapp.
On Wednesday, Chhota Udepur District Superintendent of Police, Imtiyaz Shaikh said, “Paresh Rathwa had posted a reel on Instagram where he was praising Hidma as a freedom fighter and speaking of tribal people being Naxals. The post challenged the sovereignty of the country and posed a threat to internal unity and security. It was also aimed at creating discord among communities of the country. We have taken cognisance and the SOG Police Inspector has registered an FIR against the accused. He has been formally arrested and further process is on.”
Shaikh also warned tribal youth against the “glamour of social media”, likes and followers. Shaikh said, “It is my message to the tribal youth to not fall for the glamour of social media and post unverified reels just to gain likes and followers. You can become an accused in the eyes of law by posting such reels… Before making posts or comments, always verify the facts, otherwise you may land up in grave legal trouble.”
The FIR has been lodged under BNS sections 152 (endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India, covering secession, armed rebellion, and separatist activities through speech, writing, electronic means, or finances), 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 196(1)(a) (promotions or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities), 196(1)(b) (any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity), and 197(1)(d) (making or publishing false or misleading information, jeopardising the sovereignty, unity and integrity or security of India).
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