A government employee was arrested in Tripura on Wednesday over a social media post that claimed people from minority communities in India were being murdered by right-wing hardliners, the police said.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, an officer from the Melaghar police station in Tripura’s Sepahijala district identified the arrested accused as Ruman Miah, an agriculture department employee posted at a sector office in the area.
Ruman Miah was arrested after being taken to the police station by locals who objected to the social media post. An FIR was registered against him on charges of making false statements or creating rumours intended to incite mutiny, cause public fear or alarm, and promote communal disharmony and enmity between groups.
Ruman Miah later said he had not written the post himself but shared it “by mistake”.
The police produced him at the Sonamura chief judicial magistrate’s court with a plea for his custody for further interrogation. The court granted him bail on the condition that, among other things, he would appear before the police for questioning.
Right-wing organisations reacted sharply to the incident and said the Government should crack down on comments that could provoke communal disharmony.