CDS Rawat death: Mysuru man arrested for ‘offensive’ social media post

The 40-year-old works as a lab technician in a city-based hospital, the police said.

Two days after Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai directed the state police to take action against those making ‘offensive’ social media posts on Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, police in Mysuru informed on Sunday it has arrested a 40-year-old man for a ‘derogatory’ post on the late defence chief.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat (File Photo/PTI)

Announcing the arrest, the police said that the man is from Mysuru, and works as a lab technician in a city-based hospital.

On Saturday, the state's Mangaluru Police booked two social media users for alleged objectionable posts against General Rawat, the country's first and sitting CDS, who was among 14 people on board an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter, which crashed in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district on Wednesday. The crash resulted in the demise of 13 people, including the former army chief and his wife, Madhulika Rawat.

“Offensive Tweets and Social Media posts about the tragic chopper crash in which we lost our #CDSGeneralBipinRawat will not be tolerated. I strongly condemn all such messages and have instructed our Police Officials to take strict disciplinary legal action against the offenders. They should be booked immediately as this is absolutely unpardonable,” chief minister Bommai tweeted on Friday.

In the wake of the Chief of Defence Staff's death, various state governments, including in his native state Uttarakhand, have instructed the respective police departments to take action those making ‘derogatory’ posts against him. Arrests have been made in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan as well for tweets in connection with the helicopter crash.

Meanwhile, in Kerala, a filmmaker, who said he was ‘hurt’ by smiley emojis on reports of the chopper crash, announced he is ‘renouncing’ Islam and will become a Hindu with his wife.

(With PTI inputs)