UK-returned man who posted about ‘Ludhiana’s demographic changes’ on X arrested

In a recent post on X, Saini had written: “Ludhiana is the first city of Punjab that will witness, if not already, rapid demographic change, as more and more illegal Bangladeshi continue to settle and capture the business ecosystem, starting with fruit & vegetable, and other menial tasks…”

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma said that Saini has been using X to share posts that are “provocative, communal in tone, potentially capable of spreading discord and disharmony in society and inflammatory”.

The officer added that the Ludhiana police are investigating if the “online inflammatory posts” are part of a “tool kit to spread disharmony in Punjab at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)”.

“The preliminary monitoring by the Cyber Crime Police Station revealed the objectionable, communal, provocative content capable of spreading discord and disharmony has been targeting various religious groups, including Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. Furthermore, the responses and the credentials of the followers indicate a planned and deliberate strategy to infuse hatred among various groups and communities in the state of Punjab,” Sharma further said.

The Cyber Crime police station of the Ludhiana police has registered a case against Saini on November 28 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Meanwhile, Saini’s followers on X claimed that his post on X dated November 30, when he was taken away by the Ludhiana police, has now been deleted. Sharing the screenshots of his post, which said, “I am being arrested, taken to Ludhiana”, one of his followers, Tanveer Malik, wrote: “Where is our brother?”

Another handle by the name Adit posted on X: “The price @the_lama_singh is paying for speaking his mind is staggering! Incarcerated by @AAPPunjab and Punjab Police on blatantly false charges simply for highlighting how illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya settlements are altering the demographics of Ludhiana and Malerkotla.”