A social media post inviting friends for a beef party proved costly for S Ezhilan from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu after Kumbakonam Police arrested him
Kumbakonam: A 33-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday (July 17) for posting a Facebook invitation for a beef party on July 13 in Tamil Nadu’s Kumbakonam.
A police officer said S Ezhilan alias Ramkumar had invited members of right-wing outfits for the festival. However, interestingly, Ezhilan had not mentioned the date for the beef festival.
Ezhilan is believed to be the president of the Tamil Nadu Kudiarasu Katchi.
Since the Kallappuliyur village administrative officer Sudara Rajan complained, we have filed a case against Ezhilan, police said.
“An FIR was filed under IPC sections 298 (using words with deliberate intent to hurt religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 505 (2) (promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes),’’ a police officer said.
Ezhilan was produced before a local court on Tuesday (July 17) and remanded in police custody until July 31.
Justice D Hariparanthaman, a former judge of the Madras high court said that though a reference made in the post could have been avoided, the police too could have ignored it as an expression of freedom.
“Within his democratic space, the man has recorded a mild dissent to beef politics, in these times of lynchings of beef-eaters. Even if a case had to be registered, police could have refrained from arresting him, and the magistrate too could have exercised discretion," Times of India quoted the judge as saying.
Vice-president of Dravidar Kazhagam Kali Poongundran said that food was a personal choice and that no one could interfere.
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