Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell Secretary of Asansol Tarun Sengupta was on Wednesday arrested by West Bengal CID on the charges of allegedly posting a fake video on a social networking site. In a video posted on his Facebook page, he had claimed that police officers were seen beating up a hanuman bhakt in Birbhum on Hanuman Jayanti on April 11.
A complaint against him for this video which he posted on his Facebook timeline on April 17, was filed on April 25 by the office in-charge of Birbhum Special Operations Group at Suri police station.
Sengupta was produced in a Suri court where the CID sought ten days remand of Sengupta. However, the court accepted the demand for eight days of custody for the BJP IT cell secretary. Charges under the Information Technology Act, Cyber Terrorism and Online Terrorism in India have been slapped on him.
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“The BJP IT Cell Secretary of Asansol was arrested in connection with the case in Suri police station for posting fake video and propaganda on the Facebook. Sengupta had posted one video and propaganda on the Facebook containing communally sensitive material. He has been booked under non-bailable sections,” a senior CID officer said.
The Facebook post had gone viral and was shared by many during the communal riots that took place between two communities at Baduria in Basirhat sub-division of North 24 Parganas district last week. It was then that the video came under police scanner.
Tarun Sengupta, Secretary BJP IT Cell, Asansol, WB, arrested today for spreading fake news and creating communal disharmony. pic.twitter.com/GRWSPPnMq5
— CID West Bengal (@CIDWestBengal) July 12, 2017
However, defending himself, Sengupta said that all complaints against him were “fabricated” and that he had posted the video to make people aware of what was going on in Birbhum. “I had only posted a symbolic picture to make people aware of the true situation of Birbhum district,” he said.
The BJP IT cell secretary is the second person to be arrested in West Bengal for posting communally sensitive materials on social networking sites.
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