Man held for 'offensive' FB post on Yogi Adityanath

Noida (UP): A trader has been arrested in Greater Noida for allegedly sharing a Facebook post deemed “offensive” against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, officials said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Chand Quraishi, is a resident of Jewar town and was arrested on Wednesday evening, they said.

When contacted, Quraishi said he shared the post by “mistake”.

A police official told PTI, “Quraishi had shared a post on Facebook which was deemed offensive against the chief minister. A complaint was filed at Jewar police station by a local resident after which the accused, a trader, was arrested.”

Quraishi has been booked under the Indian Penal Code section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), among others, the police said.

In June 2019, two persons were arrested in UP’s Gorakhpur district for allegedly making objectionable comments on social media against the chief minister.

Prior to that, a Noida-based journalist, the head, and the editor of a private TV news channel were also arrested over “objectionable content” against Adityanath.