The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday arrested Vicky Khan, a 19-year-old boy from Bareilly, for an alleged posting on Facebook an 'objectionable' statement, attributing it to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan.
The boy was picked up from his home on Monday evening and later arrested, after Fasahat Ali Khan, a close aide of the U.P. Minister, filed a complaint at Ganj Police station in Rampur.
He was produced before a judicial magistrate in Rampur on Tuesday which sent him to 14 days judicial custody.
Vicky Khan, a student of class XI, has been booked under section 66-A of the Information Technology Act and sections 153A ( promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc), 504 ( intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
The boy's parents, however, clarified that he had only shared the post and didn't upload it on the social media platform.
Rampur Superintendent of Police Sadhna Goswami told media that the "boy confessed that he posted the picture which had a statement attributed to Azam Khan. But he also accepted that he didn't actually understand the meaning of what he was posting."
"The boy made a controversial allegation which would only make Hindus and Muslims fight with each other. I only registered a complaint so that nobody else repeats the mischief," Mr. Khan told The Hindu .
Published - March 18, 2015 04:34 pm IST
