(Image source from: Facebook user faces arrest for anti-Modi remark})
All the Modi naysayers, hold your tongue!Making anti-Modi remarks on social media or public platform could land you in jail. Don't believe us? Then read this.
A young shipbuilding professional from Goa is all set to go behind the bars for slamming the to-be-sworn-in prime minister on Facebook during the Lok Sabha election 2014.
Devu Chodankar, a naval architect at offshore & marine services working in Mumbai faces a possible arrest for allegedly trying to “promote communal and social disharmony” in Goa, according to the officials.
During the Lok Sabha poll run up, Chodankar had posted in Goa+ — a poplar social forum with over 47,000 members — as well as on Facebook that if Modi could unleash a 'holocaust' if elected to power. He had, however, deleted the post later.
Later, justifying his post as well as apologizing for his choice of words, Chodankar said that his crusade was against the “tyranny of fascists.” He also said that an elitist right wing party was in process of filing an FIR with the Goa police's Cyber Cell against him.
Later, the ex-chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries Atul Pai Kane lodged an FIR against Chodankar in March 2014 for trying to spread communal disharmony and incite violence. He had been booked under sections 153(A), 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 125 of the People's Representation Act and 66-A of the Information Technology Act — some of which are non-bailable sections.
Kane, in his FIR, had claimed that Chodankar made inflammatory statements against the BJP and their PM-candidate Narendra Modi and tried to dissuade the Facebook users from voting for BJP.
The Goa police, who is in complete concord with Kane's allegations, has plead before the District and Sessions court to allow them to take Chodankar in custody “for recovery of cyber forensic evidence at his instance” and find out the motive of his crime.
Police inspector Rajesh Job of the Cyber Cell claims: “Custodial interrogation of the accused is very much essential to find out any motive of a larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the state”. J
Job said that a delay in action by the Facebook legal cell enforced the investigating team to opt for alternate means to verify Chodankar’s identity. Two summons have already been served to Chodankar.
Meanwhile, Facebook is heated yp with debates and discussions, condemning the severity of response over the incident. Writes Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai alumnus Dr Samir Kelekar, who has been championing for Devu: “No one is justifying what Devu wrote, but it is draconian to put someone behind bars for a mere FB post which has had no affect on the society-at-large.”
Chodankar's lawyer Jatin Naik believes that they might have to approach the High Court for further mitigation.
AW: Suchorita Choudhury
