Karnataka: Man, who said PM Modi's residence should be bombed, arrested

Bengaluru, May 13 (IANS) A man, who purportedly said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence should be bombed, has been arrested in Karnataka, police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Nawaz, made the objectionable statement against Prime Minister Modi in a video and uploaded it on his social media account named 'Public Servant'.

In the video, which went viral, Nawaz said, "Today, India and Pakistan are at war. Why hasn’t Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence bombed yet? When people were living peacefully, this war like situation was created by PM Modi. His residence should be bombed first."

Taking cognisance of the matter, the Bandepalya Police registered an FIR and tracked down the accused. He has been remanded to judicial custody and sent to Bengaluru Central jail.

Earlier, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against a postgraduate student for allegedly posting a message opposing 'Operation Sindoor' launched by the Indian armed forces in retaliation for a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in which 26 people were killed.

The Konaje Police in Mangaluru city filed the FIR based on a complaint in this regard.

According to police, the student, hailing from Mangaluru district, posted an Instagram message criticising 'Operation Sindoor'. The post opposed the strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan.

Reshma N. Bariga, a resident of Belalu near Belthangady town in Mangaluru district and a student of Mangaluru University, made the objectionable post.

"She used the hashtag ‘#dikkaraoperationSindoora’ (Down with Operation Sindoor) after writing poetic lines about the futility of war. In her poem, written in Kannada, she stated that the outcome of war is 'total darkness'," police said.

The post stirred controversy, prompting Reshma to delete it. However, she later made another post defending her earlier stance opposing 'Operation Sindoor'.

Based on the complaint, the police have registered an FIR under Sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds such as religion, race, place of birth, residence, or language, and acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony), 353(1)(b) and 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Following the backlash, Reshma issued a new statement expressing her respect and love for her country.

--IANS

mka/svn