Summary:
Pilibhit: A 21-year-old student of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) at Barkhera town in Pilibhit district was on Monday booked for sedition for allegedly posting anti-national content on his WhatsApp status.An FIR was lodged at Barkhera police station following a written complaint lodged by a Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV) activist. His family had shifted to Barkhera from Shahjahanpur about 15 years ago. The youth’s father is a shop owner in Barkhera, and he has nine siblings. A police team led by Bisalpur circle officer Praveen Malik raided the student’s house to nab him, but he along with his family members had escaped by then.Complainant Updesh Kumar claimed, “The youth had posted two photos with anti-national content on his WhatsApp status around 11.23am and 11.25am on February 15. I have also produced screenshots of his WhatsApp status before police as evidence.”Barkhera station house officer Sanjeev Upadhyay said the youth was booked under sections 124 A (sedition), 259 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.According to SHO, the youth is also pursuing graduation in arts from a degree college as a private student in Shahjahanpur district..