Bihar man arrested for operating ‘pro-Pakistan’ WhatsApp group

The police on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly making anti-national comments and offending religious sentiments on a pro-Pakistan WhatsApp group titled “Pakistan Zindabad”, being run from Bettiah, the district headquarters of West Champaran.

The accused Saddam Quraishi was arrested from Nazani Chowk area of the town, about 220 kms north of Patna. Quraishi was admin of the WhatsApp group, in which objectionable posts hurting social fabric and religious sentiments of people were shared regularly.

“In such cases, the group admin is mainly held responsible,” said Jayant Kant, superintendent of police, Bettiah.  Quraishi has been forwarded to jail.

The SP said the police acted against the accused after getting a wind of and monitoring the contents of the WhatsApp group. “We located the whereabouts of the group admin and with the help of the technical cell, seized a SIM and a cellphone from Quraishi,” an officer who was part of the raiding team said.

The police have booked Quraishi under sections 153A (offence of promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 153B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to nation) and 298 (uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) of the Indian Penal Code. 

This is only latest in the series of such charges the Bihar police have imposed against such offenders.

In June 2018, the police arrested eight people, including five minors, for allegedly playing an anti-national song, on the eve of Eid in Bihar's Rohtas district. 

On Wednesday, Quraishi's family members told the media that they were considering to hold an audience with district magistrate Dr. Nilesh Ramchandra Deore and the superintendent of police to plead his innocence.