Pune man booked for 'derogatory' FB post against Gandhiji

A non-cognisable offence has been registered in the city against a Pune resident for his "obscene and derogatory" Facebook post against Mahatma Gandhi, police said on Monday.

The offence against the Pune resident, Mayur Joshi, was registered at the Sitabuldi police station here on Sunday, they said.

The police said on Friday they received a complaint from members of the Nagpur-based 'Knowing Gandhism Global Friends' group.

According to the complaint, a person named Mayur Joshi had uploaded an "obscene and derogatory" post against the Father of the Nation on his Facebook wall.

Accordingly, a non-cognisable offence under IPC sections related to defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace and statements conducing public mischief was registered against Joshi, the police said.

After going through Joshi's Facebook account, it appears he hails from Pune, they said.

A non-cognisable offence refers to an offence in which the police have no authority to apprehend a person for crime on their own. Under this law, the police require a warrant to arrest an accused and a court's prior approval to begin investigation.