This Article is From May 21, 2020

Haryana Congress Leader Pankaj Punia Arrested For ''Objectionable'' Tweet

Haryana Congress leader Pankaj Punia was arrested late Wednesday night following a complaint by a Karnal resident.

Haryana Congress Leader Pankaj Punia Arrested For ''Objectionable'' Tweet

Pankaj Punia was the secretary of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee.

Chandigarh:

Congress leader from Haryana Pankaj Punia has been arrested by police in Karnal for allegedly "hurting religious feelings" through a social media post, a police official said on Thursday.

Mr Punia, a former secretary of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, was arrested late Wednesday night following a written complaint by a Karnal resident that he allegedly "hurt religious feelings" and "promoted enmity between different groups on ground of religion" through his tweet, the official said.

"Pankaj Punia was arrested from Madhuban area," police officer Tarsem Chand said.

A similar complaint against Mr Punia, also a member of the All India Congress Committee, was registered on Wednesday by the Uttar Pradesh Police.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Mr Punia in Lucknow for his alleged objectionable tweet.

The Haryana police officer said in the case against Mr Punia has been registered under sections related to promoting enmity between different groups, outraging religious feelings, public mischief and under the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008.

In his complaint, the complainant has alleged that "one person namely PankajPunia@INC has posted provocative falsehood to promote enmity between sections of society on ground of religion and his acts are prejudicial to maintenance of harmony".

On Tuesday, Pankaj Punia in his tweet, now removed, had targeted the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, referring to the politics over movement of buses by the Congress for ferrying migrants.

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