Two arrested for sharing sarcastic message against Sangeet Som

MEERUT : Two people, including a compounder, were arrested on Monday for allegedly sharing a sarcastic message against BJP MLA from Meerut’s Sardhana constituency Sangeet Som on a mobile messaging application, police said.

The post accused the MLA of being ignorant to the incident where a 14-year-old girl was set ablaze by six people on August 17. She is struggling for her life at a hospital in Delhi.

Commenting on the issue, Som said: “This is just mischief. It’s the mindset of these people that is creating tension in the region. It’s important to get to the bottom of this conspiracy.” He also said attempts were being made to malign the BJP’s image. “It’s the job of the police to unravel the conspiracy of using social media to foment trouble,” he said.

In-charge of Sardhana police station Dilip Singh said on the complaint of BJP’s Sardhana city unit president Vinod Jain, the police lodged a case under relevant sections of the IT Act and arrested Aijaz Khatri and Mohd Anas for sharing the objectionable post.

“Anas is a compounder at a clinic while Aijaz is jobless. They forwarded an objectionable post in a WhatsApp group of traders which also has a few BJP leaders as members,” he said.

The post read: “Som is missing since August 15. Please come back. No one will say anything to you in connection with the Sardhana incident. You do not worry about the issue because the victim was not your daughter. Your only concern is to get votes. No one will measure your chest.”

The publisher of the post also announced a reward of Rs 101 to the person who would give information regarding Som’s whereabouts.

However, Som had visited the hospital and assured the girl’s family that all possible help would be provided for her treatment and that strict action would be taken against the accused.

However, people claimed the MLA swung into action only after NGOs and local residents hit the streets to demand justice.