Karnataka: Hindu Youth Posed As Muslim And Posted Objectionable Messages About Hindu Deity, Arrested

The Karnataka police have arrested a Hindu youth for posting derogatory and indecent messages about the Hindu deity Cauvery and women belonging to Kodava Samaj on Facebook using an account with a Muslim name.

The arrested youth is identified as Divin Devaiah, 29, a resident of Kedamulluru in Virajpet Taluk of Kodagu district.

The accused, through his account created in the name of Mohammed Ashfaq on July 3, posted defamatory remarks about Cauvery, whom the local Kodava community worship as their deity. He also posted derogatory messages targeting women belonging to the Kodava community.

All this led to communal tensions in Kodagu, which is a communally sensitive region and also a bastion of the ruling BJP government and several Hindutva organisations active in the district.

The objectionable posts by the Hindu youth took a communal turn with the Kodava community calling for ‘bandh’ to demand strict punishment for the accused.

Following the outrage, the police launched an investigation into the posts and found that the posts were uploaded by a Hindu youth.

The Karnataka police had taken the help of Mumbai police to solve the case. The Mumbai police took inputs from California City about the fake FB account and passed on the inputs to local police. Following the lead, the Karnataka police nabbed the accused who was identified as a Hindu youth, IANS reported.

“On 3 July 2022, a man on Instagram has posted about women and goddess in a wrong or appropriate manner. This has hurted the sentiments of religion. A complaint has been registered. The police arrested the man on 17 July and presented him before the court,” the police said in a press release.

As per a Karnataka-based activist, Mohammed Irshad, the Hindutva outfits had made Mohammed Ashfaq’s photo viral on social media and had demanded his arrest. The Muslim youth, whose identity was misused, even received many threat calls. When Ashfaq went to file a complaint regarding the issue, the police had initially made him stay at the police station for investigation.

Devaiah has been booked under sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The accused has been arrested and produced in judicial custody. He has been booked under IPC sections 153A, 295A and 505/2,” Kodagu Superintendent of Police M.A. Aiyappa told The Cognate.

SP Aiyappa added that the youth has committed such acts “without being aware of the consequences”. “The youth did not realise he is hurting the religious sentiments and beliefs of the people.”

Members from the Federation of Kodava Community who were in arms against the unsavoury posts about their deity and women told the media, “This is an unfortunate incident which should not have taken place. Those who misuse social media handles must think twice, the incident of arrest must be a lesson for everyone.” The organization immediately withdrew the ‘bandh’ call given in the Kodagu district.