Pune: A policeman, who was serving as a bodyguard to senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat in Ahmednagar district, has been suspended after he allegedly penned an “objectionable” post against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared it via social media, the police have said.
According to sources, Ramesh Shinde was one of Mr. Thorat’s bodyguards at his residence in Sangamner, Ahmednagar.
He allegedly criticised Mr. Modi in a WhatsApp post recently. The matter was taken seriously and an inquiry was ordered, the police said.
Cyber cell inquiry
“Action was taken against Mr. Shinde after a detailed inquiry by the district police’s cyber cell,” Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Superintendent of Police, Ahmednagar, said.
‘Many other complaints’
Mr. Sharma said there were many other complaints against Mr. Shinde, besides the WhatsApp post. “Hence we initiated disciplinary action by suspending him,” he said. He said the policeman was suspended on Thursday.
“His behaviour as a government servant was inappropriate, with regards to forwarding the objectionable post. There are certain norms to be followed in government service and Mr. Shinde violated them,” Mr. Sharma said.
Mr. Shinde shared the post, which allegedly took a dig at Prime Minister Modi, to various WhatsApp groups. The post subsequently went viral, which prompted an investigation into it by the cyber crime police, who traced it to Mr. Shinde.
— With PTI inputs
