Facebook Comment Can Land You in Jail

Bangalore: In a shocking episode two Mumbai girls were arrested for questioning on Facebook the total shutdown of the city for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's funeral. While the comment wasn’t derogatory in itself to spark a rage, it certainly does bring to light the freedom of expression in our nation.

Thane rural police arrested Shaheen Dadha for questioning the shutdown in the city after Thackeray's death, and the consequent shutdown for his funeral. The girls were ordered by a local court to spend 14 days in jail. But, later were granted bail after paying a bond of Rs 15,000 each.

Shaheen Dhada, 21, had posted a comment on her Facebook wall: 'People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that. We should remember Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev, two martyrs of India's independence struggle,' as reported by yahoo.com. While, Renu Shrinivasan, a friend of Shaheen liked her post, and hence was arrested too.

As per reports, the girl later withdrew her comment from Facebook and also apologized for the same, but a mob of around 2,000 Shiv Sainiks attacked her uncle's orthopaedic clinic in Mumbai.

The two girls were booked under the IPC Section 295A (outraging religious feelings) and Section 66A, IT Act (offensive message through a communication device). But later, the first section was changed to 505(2) (creating enmity).