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By Syed Ali Mujtaba / Muslim Mirror

Bengaluru:  A Hindu youth in Karnataka is arrested on the charges of posting objectionable and indecent messages on Facebook using an account with a Muslim name.

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

The accused, through his fake account, posted defamatory and insulting messages on the goddess Cauvery, which the local Kodava community worships as their deity.  The Hindu youth also posted derogatory messages targeting women belonging to the Kodava community posing as a Muslim.

Kodagu is a bastion of the BJP and several Hindu organizations are active in this district. The unsavory posts by the Hindu youth took a communal turn as various Hindu organizations gave ‘bandh’ calls condemning the posts.  Kodagu is considered a communally sensitive region that faced threats to its law and order situation.

The Karnataka police took the help of Mumbai police that got the inputs from California City about the fake FB account and passed on the inputs to local police.  The Karnataka police, Following the lead, nabbed the accused who turned out to be a Hindu youth.

Reacting to the arrest, M.A. Aiyappa, Superintendent of Police Kodagu district, said; “it has become common to misuse social media because those abusing it lack knowledge about the security arrangement around it. He appealed to the youth not to indulge in such mischief because its consequences could be grave.”

Members from the Federation of Kodava Community who were up in arms against the objectionable posts on the FB, after knowing that the culprit is not a Muslim stated that; “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.”  They withdrew the ‘bandh’ call given in the Kodagu district.

This article first appeared in muslimmirror.com