Balasore: Two persons were arrested in Balasore district Tuesday for allegedly making unsavoury remarks against Union Minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi. They had made the comments on social media platforms as well as on posters.
The two were arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by the district unit of the BJP’s youth wing Sunday against the distasteful remarks about Sarangi, who is also the Lok Sabha member from Balasore, Inspector in-Charge of Sahadevkhunta Police station KC Palei said.
Sahadevkhunta police registered a case the same day and launched an investigation, Palei informed. He added the accused were identified and arrested after a thorough probe.
The arrested persons have been identified as Gautam Sahu and Gyanendra Mohanty. Both are around 25 years of age. They both had posted the remarks against the minister on their Facebook pages, Palei said.
Posters carrying a screenshot of the social media post also appeared at some places in Balasore town, Sunday.
The posters read ‘Help! Our MP is Missing’ with a photograph of Sarangi, the Union Minister of State for MSME, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, police said.
The accused have been booked under sections 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 500 (defamation) and 34 A (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC, they added.
PNN & Agencies