There was tension in parts of western Maharashtra on Sunday over some objectionable posts found on social networking site Facebook on warrior kings Shivaji and Sambhaji, and Shiv Sena’s deceased leader Bal Thackeray.
The content was removed from the website by early morning on Sunday and the police have registered FIR against unknown persons at various places in the State.
According to the police, a few buses were burnt and damaged in Pune, Ahmednagar, Usmanabad while mobs resorted to ‘rasta roko’ and protests. The situation was reported peaceful and normal by evening after the content was taken down. “The cyber cell of Mumbai Crime Branch has also started investigating into it. The officials contacted Facebook in America. The objectionable content was deleted by 1.00 a.m. on Sunday,” Sadanand Date, Mumbai Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, earlier, as the existence of the posts came to light, the Shiv Sena upped its ante against the State administration and many of its officials filed FIRs across the State against unknown persons.
“It seems there is no cyber surveillance by the State government. This tendency to malign images of great people needs strict actions. This is a conspiracy to hurt people’s feelings. Home Minister R.R. Patil has assured us that they will take strict action and will dig into the roots of the mischievous culprits,” Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe told The Hindu.
There were reports of agitations by the Shiv Sena across the State but Ms. Gorhe refused to comment on it. “Since the police have already removed the objectionable posts, we have appealed to our activists to maintain calm. But I do not know if any impromptu agitations have been held anywhere. The party has only appealed for peace.”
