Seven arrested in Bengal, Maharashtra and UP for ‘pro-Pakistan’ social media posts

At least seven persons have been arrested in the past three days in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh for sharing allegedly pro-Pakistan content on social media.

This comes amid escalating tensions and cross-border strikes between India and Pakistan after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.

On Saturday, the West Bengal Police said that it has arrested a man, identified as Sarif Sheikh, from Maharashtra’s Mumbai for allegedly supporting Pakistan on social media, The Indian Express reported.

Sheikh, who hails from Danihat in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, had posted allegedly pro-Pakistan slogans, along with the Pakistani and Bangladeshi national flags, on the social media platform Facebook, the newspaper quoted unidentified police officers as saying.

After seeing the post, Sheikh’s neighbour filed a complaint and the police in Purba Bardhaman district informed the Mumbai Police, according to The Indian Express.

“Sedition, instigation and other charges have been slapped against him,” the officers told The Indian Express. “A team of Purba Bardhaman police will take him in transit remand and bring him here soon. We, however, have placed security at his residence so that nobody can hurt his parents.”

The officers added that Sheikh used to work as a mason in Kerala before moving to Mumbai and starting a garment business, according to The Indian...

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