Bal Thackeray effect: Arrested girls delete Facebook a/c

Mumbai, Nov 20: 21-year-old Shaheen Dhada and her friend experienced the aftermath of a comment targeting late Shiv Sena supremo

. The two victims, who had dared to use their constitutional right of freedom of speech, were sent to jail.

Now, the two young ladies deleted their Facebook accounts which they had taken as a platform to express their rage against bandh (strike) which was observed in many places in Maharashtra on Monday, Nov 19 mourning Bal Thackeray's demise.

"People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a bandh for that," Dhada had reportedly written on her Facebook wall. Dhada's friend, who has been identified as Renu, "liked" her comment and landed in the legal trouble.

The duo were reportedly booked under Section 295(a) of the IPC (for hurting religious sentiments) and Section 64(a) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. They were later granted bail on surety of Rs 15,000 each. Shaheen, it was said, withdrew her comment and apologised before the vandalism took place.

Dhada and her friend's arrest created ruckus in the country. Social activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday tweeted, "Police officers who arrested the two girls in Mumbai shud be immediately dismissed. That's minimum that the govt ought to do."

Earlier on Monday, Press Council of India Chairman and former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju also sent letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, saying the arrest was absurd and demanded immediate action against the guilty police officers.

Meanwhile, media organisations raised questions whether the police made arbitrary and unlawful arrest of Dhada and her friend. Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal also slammed Maharashtra police saying that the cops mishandled the law and the government could intervene to put things in order.

OneIndia News