Man insults martyr Lt Col Niranjan on Facebook, arrested

A man has been arrested here for making an insulting Facebook post about NSG commando Lt Col E K Niranjan, who was killed in the counter-offensive against terrorists at the Pathankot air base on Sunday.

A police official, attached to the Chevayur Police station, told IANS that Anwar Sadiq, 24, was arrested on Tuesday from his home in Malappuram district.

"He had created a Facebook profile with a fake name and claimed he was a journalist with the Madhyamam Daily. Following a complaint from the Daily and revelation that there was nobody of that name employed with them, police probed and arrested this person," said the official requesting anonymity.

The official said the arrested man has been charged under Sec 124 (A) of the Indian Penal Code as his comments are of an anti-national nature. "He will be produced before a court. He has said that he did not know that it was a crime."

In the Facebook post, Sadiq, under a fake profile, had posted insulting remarks about the martyr and it evoked a heated discussion in the social media. Following the complaint from the Daily, the police arrested him.