Another man arrested in Telangana for derogatory comments on Ayyappa Swamy

Hyderabad, Jan 1:  A man in Telangana's Karimnagar district has been arrested for making social media posts derogatory to Ayyappa Swamy, police said.

Kamalapur police in Karimnagar took Bairi Agni Tej into custody and produced him before a magistrate, who sent him to judicial custody. A case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him.

According to police, he had made a derogatory post on Facebook on December 30. He was arrested for hurting the religious sentiments of Ayappa devotees and for creating disharmony.

Police warned that anybody making derogatory comments about any religious figures through social media posts or in any other form would face strong action.

This is the third arrest made by the Telangana Police for making objectionable comments about Ayyappa Swamy.

Vikarabad district police had Saturday arrested state President of Atheist Society Bairi Naresh and another functionary Dolu Hanumanthu for allegedly making derogatory comments against Hindu gods, mainly Ayyappa Swamy.

Naresh had made the comments at Kodangal on December 19 and a video clip of his speech had gone viral on social media three days ago.

This had sparked state-wide protests by Ayyappa devotees, who had demanded immediate arrest of Naresh and stringent action against him. They had also lodged complaints with the police against him in various places.

Hyderabad police's cyber crime cell had also booked Naresh for allegedly making derogatory statements.

Cases were booked against him under sections 153A, 295A, 208 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at various police stations in the state.

At a meeting of Dalit groups in Kodangal, Naresh had allegedly spoken ill about the birth of Ayyappa Swamy and also made derogatory remarks against deities Shiva and Vishnu.

Actor and BJP leader Karate Kalyani had also lodged a complaint with the police. She alleged that it has become a fashion to disgrace Hindu gods for publicity and demanded strict action against Naresh for hurting sentiments of Hindus.

BJP state President Bandi Sanjay slammed the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government and demanded action against the offender.

He claimed that anybody can abuse Hindu Gods in Telangana and get exonerated as the Chief Minister encourages blasphemy without taking any action.