Cartoonist Trivedi remanded to police custody till Sept 16

Mumbai, Sept 9: Kanpur based cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, arrested for allegedly posting seditious content on his website, was remanded to police custody till September 16 by a local court.

Trivedi, who was arrested on Saturday on the basis of a complaint filed in December, was produced before a court in Bandra which remanded him to police custody till September 16. Police had sought his custody to question him on the contents on his website and other charges. The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him last month.

A member of Repubican Party of India, Amit Katarnayea, had filed a complaint against Trivedi that the latter had put up banners mocking the Indian constitution during the Anna Hazare rally held last year at the Bandra Kurla Complex. It was also alleged that he had put the obscene content on his website.

Outside the court, a defiant Trivedi said, "If telling the truth makes me traitor then I am one. Even Mahatma Gandhi was called traitor and if I am booked under sedition for doing service to the nation then I will continue to do so."

While police officers said that he had shown disrespect to the National flag and he was arrested under 124A of the Indian Penal Code for sedition besides various sections of the Information Technology Act. Trivedi was due to fly to Syria on Wednesday to receive a cartooning award.

"If anyone is talking against corruption, proclaiming it as anti-national and slamming charges of sedition, one needs to understand that this is against the government and not against the country," said Mayank Gandhi, a member of IAC. He said further said that Trivedi was not a member of the IAC "but is fighting corruption and we are here to give him moral support".

PTI