Two women Shaheen Dhada, Renu Srinivas were arrested in Mumbai, India for posting and liking a comment on the social media site of Facebook regarding the funeral of politician Bal Thackeray.
According to the Associated Press, one of the women, Dhada posted on her Facebook page, "Respect is earned, not given and definitely not forced. Today Mumbai shuts down due to fear and not due to respect," referring to the fact that the Maharashtra government closed down the city of Mumbai in wake of the death of Saheb Thackeray. The other woman, Srinivas "liked" the status, as a result of which both women were taken into police custody.
The two women were arrested for "creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes," as is stated in one of the clauses of the Indian Penal Code.
Markandey Katju, Head of the Press Council of India and also a former Supreme Court justice urged the Maharashtrian Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan to take legal against the police who commanded the arrest. "We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship...In fact this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act since... it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime," said Katiju in a letter to Chauhan as reported by the Christian Monitor.
Even the nation's Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal was upset by the violation of the country's freedom of expression.
"Freedom of speech is a very important right, and we need to protect it...We want to make sure that this law is not meant to prevent people from stating their point of view on any issue," as reported by the AP.
The women have since been released from jail on bail as of Monday.
Bal Shaheb Thackeray was a highly popular, yet controversial politician from the Hindu fundamentalist political party, Shiv Sena. He was often associated with the mob. Thackeray died at the age of 86 on Sunday. He was known as the "Tiger of Mumbai."
