Was 'tortured' in jail, will not apologise: Priyanka Sharma

Walking free after remaining in jail for five days for sharing a meme on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Priyanka Sharma said on Wednesday that she was "tortured" in jail and that she would not tender an apology for sharing the meme.

Sharma, who was picked up by the police on Friday, also vowed to fight a court battle to clear her name as she had "done no wrong".

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday ordered Sharma's release, following which she was set free at around 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday.

"They tortured me in jail. The jailor pushed me," claimed Sharma who complained that the jail staff behaved very rudely with her and did not let her speak to anyone for five days. "Even after I was given bail, they didn't allow me to talk to anyone," she said.

Sharma also said that water was a big problem in the jail and that the women's toilet had no water.

"I will now prepare for my court battle to clear my name and win the case," she said.

The Supreme Court is set to hear the case again in July when it would be decided if Sharma should go by the West Bengal government's stand that she tender an apology for sharing the meme on social media.

"I have done no wrong. So why should I apologise," Sharma said as she questioned why did the police target her when a lot of people had shared the post. "Why are they not arresting the many other people who shared the post," she asked.

Sharma was arrested on May 10 in Howrah district for allegedly sharing Banerjee's morphed picture on Facebook.

A complaint was lodged at the Dasnagar Police station against Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, for violating community guidelines.

Sharma allegedly used Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra's image taken at the recent MET Gala event to make the meme. The theme for this year's MET Gala was 'Camp: Notes on Fashion'.

--IANS

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