Protest in T'gana town over social media post; situation under control: Police

A protest was held by members of a community in front of a police station in Adilabad town of Telangana following a social media post allegedly hurting their religious sentiments.A 27-year-old man allegedly posted some derogatory words on his social media handle and was taken into custody, police said.

A protest was held by members of a community in front of a police station in Adilabad town of Telangana following a social media post allegedly hurting their religious sentiments.

A 27-year-old man allegedly posted some derogatory words on his social media handle and was taken into custody, police said. But, members of another community got agitated and gathered in front of the station on Saturday night and demanded strict action on the accused, the police said.

Mild force to disperse the protesters was resorted to and tense moments prevailed following the agitation, they said.

The situation was brought under control, additional personnel were deployed and prohibitory orders imposed, said a senior police official said.

The arrested man, who runs a mobile phone shop, posted the message on his social media status insulting a religion and was booked under IPC section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), they said.

Patrolling was intensified and pickets posted; the situation is peaceful and under control today, said Adilabad Superintendent of Police D Uday Kumar. Action would be taken also against those who held the protest, he added.