Outrage over arrest of 21-year-old for FB post on Thackeray

There were numerous cases of intimidation as Mumbai ‘voluntarily’ shut down shops, and public transport and cable operators stopped broadcasting all non-news television channels,  but it was a 21-year-old who found herself behind bars in neighbouring Thane for a post on her Facebook page against the shutdown in the city. The Mumbai Mirror reported that Shaheen Dhada was arrested for a Facebook status update which reportedly read: ‘People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that.’ A friend who ’liked’ her comment was also arrested. [caption id=“attachment_527623” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sachin Gokhale/ Firstpost[/caption] The duo were reportedly booked under Section 295 (a) of the IPC (for hurting religious sentiments) and Section 64 (a) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Times of India also reported that a mob of Shiv Sena workers attacked and ransacked the girl’s uncle’s orthopaedic clinic at Palghar, even though she withdrew her comment and apologised. What did not find mention in the reports of the arrest,  is who filed the complaint against the girl given it was on her Facebook page and not in public domain, or why the police chose to slap her with a case that pertained to offending religious sentiments. Dhada’s Facebook profile could not be found on Monday. Understandably the report met with consternation on the internet with the story being widely shared on social media like Facebook and Twitter: https://twitter.com/naqvisaify/status/270412818564661248 https://twitter.com/PoloBearings/status/270412303323770880