A Homeopathy practitioner from Mumbai, Dr Sunilkumar Nishad, was released on bail on Thursday, 16 May, after he was arrested by the Parksite police, in Vikhroli, for allegedly posting “anti-Hindu” and “anti-Brahmin” content on Facebook.
“There was no intention of hurting anyone’s religious beliefs. Whatever I said was based on facts and, in some cases, High Court orders which I have read. If anyone had any problem, they should have countered me on facts or spoken to me,” he told The Indian Express, saying that he didn’t even know who the complainant was.
Nishad was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by Ravindra Tiwari, a local resident who claims to be a social activist, on Wednesday, 15 May, after a two-day search by the police. The court proceedings began on Thursday.
Talking to The Indian Express, Tiwari had said:
“Over the past few days, he kept posting derogatory posts, so we decided to approach the police and give a written application. The police were very cooperative and registered an FIR the next day.”
Tiwari said that Dr Nishad had been putting up such posts for about two years and when approached by the concerned, he told them to go to the police if they had any problems. He added that a similar complaint had been filed against the doctor six months ago by another local resident.
On Facebook, Nishad claims to be a member of the BAMCEF, which is an organisation for Indian minority groups, started by the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
On his Facebook timeline, he has posted content about the caste divide, the Hindu religion and ‘Brahminical oppression’ on a near-daily basis. He has also put up posts criticising BJP leaders and the use of EVMs in elections.
(With Inputs from The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)