Maharashtra: 2 arrested for Pak Independence Day status on Instagram

Mumbai: Two teenage college students from Colaba were arrested by Mumbai Police for posting an image of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations as their status on Instagram.

Police said the arrests were prohibitory in nature and the duo were released after a warning.

According to the Police, a businessman from Colaba approached Colaba police on Monday and lodged a complaint that a few boys from Colaba were using Pakistan’s I-Day celebration as their status on Instagram and stated that this may lead to communal tension.

Based on the complaint, Colaba police’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) late Monday night tracked down the boys and brought them to the police station and placed them under prohibitory arrest under CrPC 151 (3).

Police checked their mobiles and found that these boys had indeed used Pakistan’s Independence Day as their story status on Instagram. Police took a screenshot of their mobile phones and seized them.

“From their conduct, manner of speaking and behaviour, it seems that they were doing this with the intention of disturbing the law and order in the country on August 15,” a senior official said.

Pakistan which came into existence after a bitter partition from India in 1947 marks August 14 as its day of independence from the Britishers.