FIR registered against 14-year-old boy in Maharashtra’s Beed over social media post on Aurangzeb

Talking to The Indian Express, Beed Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur said, “We registered an FIR last night…under sections 295(A) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505 (B) (description with intention to incite offence) of the Indian Penal Code against the 14-year-old.”

Thakur said that the boy was away in Mumbai during his school vacation. When the boy realized that his post had led to communal tension in the area, he deleted the message and uploaded a video apologising if his actions had hurt anyone.

Thakur added that once the boy returns, they will question him to find out where he procured the image from and if anyone else was involved. “As per procedure, the boy will then be produced before the juvenile court,” he said.

Thakur said that ever since the name of Aurangabad was changed to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, cases of communal unrest had gone up. The officer said that in response to the post, commercial establishments near the market area of the village in Beed had been shut for half a day in protest.

The officer said that there was a heavy police deployment in the area and the situation was calm. No untoward incident had been reported, he added.

Communal tension has been heightened in several districts of Maharashtra recently over social media messages glorifying Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan.