Uttar Pradesh: Man held for posing as slain cop on Facebook and slamming state government

Photo for representational purpose.

A 25-YEAR-OLD man was arrested in Muzaffarnagar for posing as slain sub-inspector, Akhtar Ali, in his Facebook profile and allegedly posting objectionable comments against the Uttar Pradesh government and the BJP. In April last year, Akhtar Ali was killed in an exchange of fire during a raid to arrest a suspected criminal at Dadri, Noida.

The accused, Zakir Ali ‘Tyagi’, from Meerut district, was booked under Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of IPC and Information Technology Act on Sunday. “Zakir, who is studying for graduation, was staying at a relative’s house in Muzaffarnagar for the last two years,” said Sub-Inspector Dharmendra Singh, the complainant in the case.

“We came to know through a source that Zakir was posting objectionable comments on his Facebook wall for the last few days. We were told that he was using the photograph of slain police officer Akhtar Ali as his profile picture. We verified the details and found it to be true,” said City Kotwali SHO Preetam Pal Singh.

Police said they checked Zakir’s cellphone and found objectionable comments posted on his Facebook wall against the state government and BJP. Zakir was produced before a local court, which sent him to judicial custody.