Hindu College associate professor arrested over objectionable social media post
New Delhi(PTI): Associate professor of Delhi University's Hindu College Ratan Lal was arrested on Friday night for his objectionable social media post referring to claims about a 'Shivling' found inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque complex, police said.
They said Lal was arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) by the Cyber Police Station, North.
An FIR was lodged against Lal on Tuesday night based on a complaint filed by a Delhi-based lawyer. In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal said Lal had recently shared a "derogatory, inciting and provocating tweet on the Shivling".
The statement made by Lal on his Twitter account is "instigating and provoking", he said in the complaint.
The statement was posted on the issue of a 'Shivling' found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex which is very sensitive in nature and the matter is pending before the court, the lawyer said in his complaint.
Defending his post earlier, Lal had said, "In India, if you speak about anything, someone or the other's sentiment will be hurt. So this is nothing new. I am a historian and have made several observations. As I wrote them down, I have used very guarded language in my post and still this. I will defend myself."
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Karnataka govt seeks agency to manage rural drinking water units: Minister
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the state government is working to appoint an agency to manage clean drinking water units in rural areas.
The state Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister was responding to a question by Hirekerur MLA U B Banakar in the legislative assembly.
"In the rural areas of the state, many clean drinking water units have been set up under corporate social responsibility (CSR) grants, including contributions by MLAs and MPs, and handed over to gram panchayats. After the maintenance period, problems have arisen in keeping these units operational," Priyank said.
He added that a proposal has been made to award a maintenance contract to one of the country’s reputed drinking water unit manufacturing companies, but so far, no companies have come forward to take up the work.
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"The government is continuing its efforts and will resolve this problem soon," he said.
On a query regarding fluoride content in water, the minister said water quality testing is being conducted monthly in all zilla panchayats.
"Laboratories have been opened for this purpose. Around 6.5 lakh water samples have been tested across the state, and water testing kits have been provided to villages," he added.
