MANGALURU: A Facebook post related to the recent Kerala floods has landed a 33-year-old man in jail. The man also alleged that he was kept under illegal detention for three days.“Bhakt: Entry of women…. resulted in Kerala floods; Me: What caused floods in Parashurama’s creation Mangaluru ?” was the post published in Kannada on the social media platform by Ashraf M Salethur, who works in the SIM card section of BSNL.The left wing and like-minded organisations have now decided to approach the home minister and also convene a protest questioning the ‘illegal detention and double standards’ of the police.People in support of Salethur, who was put behind the bars, say though they have drawn the attention of police towards several posts with communal overtones, action had not been taken even in a single case. Keeping forward this rationale, they also intend to file a complaint against police officials in question, with their chief.Salethur had on August 19 posted the above status on Facebook. Two days later, the city crime bureau police picked Ashraf tactfully and later he was allegedly kept under illegal detention. While the rest of the Muslim community was celebrating Bakrid on August 22, Ashraf said he was languishing in jail with only underwear on his body.“On August 21, I received a call from a person who spoke in Beary and called me near the CCB police station in Bunder on the pretext of meeting me. As I reached there, the police took me in their custody and quizzed for three hours until 8pm. Later, they handed me to police at the Mangaluru North station where I was forced to sit until midnight. They then stripped me and confined me to a dark room,” Ashraf told TOI.Ashraf alleged that police coerced him to answer the magistrate the next day that he was picked up at around 8.30am that morning and threatened not to reveal the ordeal he suffered since the previous evening.Ashraf has been booked under IPC Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), Section 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and Section 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication).He was then lodged in Mangaluru jail for the next six days. Ashraf’s lawyer Shivaprakash said it appeared that Ashraf was innocent and that details will be collected.Muneer Katipalla, state president, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), said his party would help Ashraf file a complaint against police officials in question with senior officers and also stage a protest. “We will also approach the home minister,” he said.Muneer said though the DYFI had drawn the attention of police towards several cases of hate messages with communal overtones on social media, action had not been taken even in a single case. He wondered how police could book Ashraf for a post that did not appear to stir religious sentiments.DCP (Crime and Traffic) Uma Prashanth told TOI that city police had not detained anybody illegally. “If there indeed has been any such illegal detention, let him file a complaint. We will act as per the law,” she said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Mangalore headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.