Kerala police arrested Anil K Antony of the BJP on Tuesday for reportedly commenting on a social media post he shared about an incident involving ladies wearing burqas. The Kasaragod district cyber cell reported that Antony’s social media post on platform X was seen to be inciting animosity amongst various groups, which resulted in the filing of a charge under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The IPC’s Section 153A addresses the non-bailable offense of inciting hatred amongst groups based on a person’s race, religion, place of birth, or place of residency. The Cyber Cell independently filed a formal complaint (FIR) against Antony on October 27, initially targeting unidentified individuals in relation to a contentious post on X.
Antony is said to have shared the post and left a comment that said, “No bus rides without a burqa in northern Kerala.” According to authorities, his name was added as an accused on Tuesday to the FIR. The national secretary and spokesperson for the BJP, Antony, has not responded to the news. Following an earlier FIR against Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Antony is the target of this action. He was scheduled because of remarks he made on social media about the recent explosions close to Kochi and an unconnected function that an Islamist group in the Malappuram district arranged, where a leader of Hamas was said to have given a virtual speech to the crowd.
In addition to being charged under sections 153 (want only giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, and residence) of the IPC, Chandrasekhar was also charged under sections 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act (causing nuisance and violation of public order).
According to the official complaint against the central minister submitted by a sub-inspector (SI) of the Kochi municipal Cyber Cell, Chandrasekhar posted videos and statements on his social media accounts with the purpose of inciting violence and causing trouble.
