Gujarat Congress General Secy Arrested For ‘Misleading, Morale Breaking’ Social Media Posts On Operation Sindoor

Gujarat Congress leader Rajesh Soni was arrested under the BNS for allegedly posting misleading content on Facebook regarding "Operation Sindoor," India's retaliatory strikes after the Pahalgam attack.

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Source : Social Media

Gujarat Congress general secretary Rajesh Soni on Friday was arrested and charged under tough sections of the BNS for allegedly uploading misleading as well as morale-breaking content on a social media platform related to 'Operation Sindoor', reports news agency PTI quoting police. After registration of FIR on Thursday, the Cyber Crime Cell of the state CID arrested Soni in the wee hours over his controversial posts on the operation launched by Indian armed forces to destroy terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK, said Superintendent of Police (CID-Cyber Crime) Bharatsinh Tank.

India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and bombed airbases in Pakistan in retaliatory strikes. According to PTI, Soni has been accused of breaking defence personnel's morale and putting India's sovereignty in danger through misleading posts on Facebook.

The Congress leader has been booked under sections 152 (acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 353(1)(a) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), said the SP. The section 353(1)(a) can also be invoked against someone who makes, publishes or circulates any statement, false information, rumour, or report with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer or soldier of India to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such.

The punishment under the BNS section 152 can range from life imprisonment to seven years, plus a fine. The FIR lodged by the CID cited two Facebook posts of Soni, whose arrest was denounced by the opposition party.

According to the report, the Congress leader in one of the posts shared photos of posters of Operation Sindoor featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the uniform of a fighter jet pilot.

The post had a caption in Gujarati, which reads Please note that soldiers will not get the credit. The cost of his publicity will be double the cost of flying the Rafale in Operation Sindoor. 

In another post, Soni, despite knowing the facts, tried to incite people by claiming that the Indian government had surrendered during the operation, the FIR stated.

We have arrested Soni for his posts, which could break the armed forces' morale and send a wrong message to soldiers that their contribution and sacrifice on the battlefield will go in vain, said Tank, justifying the police action, reports news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)