Assam: Asst prof booked for Facebook post on Ram

The comments were posted by Anindya Sen on August 5—on the day of the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya—and a case was filed on August 8 after a complaint from one Rohit Chanda, whose Facebook profile describes him as an ABVP member.

It is learnt that the case has been filed under IPC sections 294 (obscene acts), 295A (outraging religious feelings) and 501(defamatory matter).

An assistant professor of the Assam University in Silchar has been booked for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by his allegedly derogatory Facebook post against Lord Ram, officials said on Sunday.

The comments were posted by Anindya Sen on August 5 — on the day of the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya — and a case was filed on August 8 after a complaint from one Rohit Chanda, whose Facebook profile describes him as an ABVP member.

“Yes, a case has been registered over the FB post. The complaint is about the post hurting religious sentiments. We will investigate the matter,” Cachar SP B L Meena told The Indian Express.

It is learnt that the case has been filed under IPC sections 294, 295A and 501.

In his complaint, Chanda alleged that Sen had made derogatory remarks on Ram and “continuously posts such abusive posts defaming Hindu dharma and also abuses constitutional posts like Prime Minister and Home Minister of the country”.

However, Sen said he never intended to insult any Hindu god or goddess or to hurt anyone’s religious sentiments. “The Ramayana is an epic. It has many versions. At different points, Ram has been criticised. I am not the first one to point out the criticism. It has been done before as well,” Sen said.

On August 6, a woman named Satabdi Bhattacharjee was booked in Cachar for allegedly commenting on Facebook about eating beef. Screenshots of Bhattacharjee’s comments, showing her telling another user with a Muslim name to consume beef, were widely circulated and she was trolled online before filing of the case. SP Meena said Bhattacharjee’s case was also about “hurting religious sentiments” and the police are investigating it.

In February last year, Papri Banerjee, an assistant professor of English at Icon Commerce College in Guwahati, was booked after her Facebook comments on the Pulwama attack.

News Source Indian Express