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A resident of Santa Cruz in North Goa was booked by Goa police for allegedly sharing a picture on Facebook, which allegedly “insulted the Prime Minister and disrespected the national flag”, said police on Thursday.
No arrest has been made so far, police said. The FIR was lodged on a complaint by a ward member of Santa Cruz panchayat. The FIR was lodged against the accused under section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and section 2 (Insults to Indian National Flag and Constitution of India) of Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act 1971 at Old Goa police station on Tuesday, said police.
In the FIR, the complainant said that on the eve of Independence day, he came across a “deeply offensive and derogatory post” on the Facebook profile of the accused.
“In this post, he depicted the Prime Minister of our country as a ‘chameliyon’ (chameleon) on the national flag. This blatant disrespect not only undermines the dignity of our national symbols, but also insults our honourable Prime Minister,” the complaint read.
The complainant added that the actions of the accused were in violation of Indian Penal Code and the Flag Code of India.
Police said the accused is yet to be arrested. “The alleged post was shared by the accused on his Facebook profile on August 13. A probe has been initiated and the accused has been given a notice to join the investigation,” said a police officer.
According to police sources, the accused was also booked under sections 298 and 295 A of Indian Penal Code at Old Goa police station last year for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of a community.
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