Dalit scholar arrested for Facebook remark over Durga suspension

Rampur (UP), Aug 7: Dalit scholar Kamal Bharti was arrested on Tuesday after a complaint was lodged by an aide of Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan for his alleged post on a social networking site on Durga Shakti Nagpal, a suspended IAS officer.

Bharti, who has written many books on Dalits' problems, said in his Facebook post that Nagpal, the SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar, was suspended for alleged demolition of a wall of a mosque. He said a madrasa was brought down in Rampur recently and its manager was put behind the bars but no action was taken against those who were sent for the demolition act. The institute was razed for it was allegedly built on a graveyard land, sources said.

Bharti alleged that it is the 'will and wish' of the state's urban development minister, Azam Khan, which rules the roost and not the law.

Soon after, Fasahat Ali Khan, the minister's public relations officer, lodged the police complaint against Bharti accusing the latter of making derogatory remarks against Azam Khan. A case was registered and Bharti was arrested, police said. He was later granted bail by the chief judicial magistrate.

OneIndia News