Maharashtra: PhD student arrested for ‘defaming’ CM Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis

The arrested man, 29-year-old Ganesh Narayan Gote, is an MSc graduate and a PhD scholar from Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri, in Ahmednagar district.

“On October 14, the Maharashtra Cyber Department received a complaint that a person was using his Twitter account to post obnoxious comments about people holding constitutional positions including the chief minister and the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra… the person was also using his Twitter handle to abuse women and some women journalists,” said Superintendent of Maharashtra Cyber Police Sanjay Shintre.

The allegedly abusive remarks were posted beginning October 11, but cyber police declined to comment on what the exact tweets were. In one of his tweets, Gote used the word “gaddar (traitor)” — usually used by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to describe its rival party led by Shinde. Cyber police said Gote is not associated with any political party.

Following the complaint, police filed a case under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 500 (defamation) and 505 (2) (intent to cause fear or alarm to the public). They also invoked Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the IT Act.

Shintre said the accused was using a wi-fi connection and VPN (virtual private network) to evade arrest. He was also trying to create an impression that he was posting content from Mumbai, said the officer.

Police later discovered that he was tweeting from the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University. A cyber police team detained two people at the university Saturday.

Two mobile phones and one laptop have been seized and the investigation is on, police said. They added that the role of the other person was being ascertained.

This person is also a student and a peer of Gote. The duo stayed in a hostel near the university.

Gote’s Twitter handle, “Bhujangshetti”, is no longer active. A police official said it has been deleted.

The Indian Express has sent an email to Twitter to understand the action taken against the account. A response is awaited.

“Investigations are also on about the possibility that some of the content posted by the accused might have been created by some others… and for this… the seized gadgets are being put through technical analysis,” said inspector Prashant Chougule.

In May, about 22 FIRs were registered against Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale for posting a derogatory poem about NCP chief Sharad Pawar on her Facebook profile. She was arrested and later got bail.

A 21-year-old pharma student from Nashik was also arrested in May for posting derogatory comments on Pawar.

In October, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested one Pradeep Bhalekar for posting “defamatory” comments on Twitter about Chief Minister Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis. Bhalekar was also arrested in August for posting allegedly derogatory comments on Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

In November 2020, Sameet Thakkar, who allegedly put up offensive posts against then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya, was arrested for the third time in as many weeks. He faced three FIRs in this connection.