Pune: An Indian Railways employee was Friday arrested for allegedly raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at Lonavala in the district, where some local residents had gathered to pay homage to the CRPF jawans killed in Pulwama terror attack, a police official said. The man, Upendra Kumar Bahadur Singh (39), a junior ticket checker with the railways, was arrested under IPC section 153 (B) (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), police said.
“On Friday morning, some local residents had gathered at Shivaji Chowk in Lonavala to pay homage to the CRPF jawans martyred in the Pulwama attack,” B R Patil, senior inspector of Lonavala police station, said. “When people were paying homage, Singh reached the venue and started raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans. People present there got angry and tried to beat him up. But since police personnel were deployed there, he was immediately detained,” he said.
Taking cognisance of the matter, the Pune Rural Police has arrested Singh immediately and put him behind bars, charging him under IPC section 153(B). The section deals with the offence of promoting disharmony, enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. He has also been suspended from Indian Railways.
According to Patil, Singh was produced in the court, which remanded him in police custody till February 18.
