Silvassa man held for ‘cleaning’ chicken with Tricolour

A man from Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was arrested after a video purportedly showing him “cleaning” chicken with the Tricolour went viral on social media, an official said on Saturday. An official from Silvassa police station said the man was seen “insulting” the national flag by using it as a piece of cloth to clean chicken at a poultry shop where he worked.

“We booked the person on the basis of a complaint and arrested him under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971,” the police official said. The man was arrested on Thursday and sent to judicial custody on Friday, police said. The official said the man was arrested under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act which deals with people burning, mutilating, defacing, defiling, disfiguring, destroying, or trampling upon the national flag in a public place or in any other place within public view.

If found guilty, he can be imprisoned for up to three years, with a fine, or with both.