Gujarat Congress leader arrested for posts on Operation Sindoor

The Gujarat police said the Congress leader’s posts undermine the morale of defence personnel and endanger India’s sovereignty through misleading information

Published on: Jun 7, 2025, 21:38:41 IST

By Maulik Pathak

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Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress general secretary Rajesh Soni was arrested on Friday for posting content on social media that was deemed misleading and damaging the morale of India’s armed forces involved in Operation Sindoor, police said.

Operation Sindoor, launched on the night of May 6-7, 2025, was a high-precision military offensive targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

The operation, launched last month by the Indian military to target terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), has been a focal point of national sensitivity, prompting authorities to closely monitor online activities.

According to Superintendent of Police (CID-Cyber Crime) Bharatsinh Tank, an FIR was registered against Soni on Thursday over certain posts on Facebook. Along with the May 22 post on Operation Sindoor, police also cited an older post from April 3 last year in the FIR, which HT has seen.

The posts undermine the morale of defence personnel and endanger India’s sovereignty through misleading information, according to police.

Based on a complaint filed by Ajay Swami, 35, a sub-inspector of the cyber crime cell of the Criminal Investigation Department, CID Crime, Gujarat, Soni was charged under sections 152 (acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and 353(1)(a) (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SP said.

Operation Sindoor, launched on the night of May 6-7, 2025, was a high-precision military offensive targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

The operation resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists, with India repelling subsequent Pakistani counter-attacks. The government has since been monitoring social media for content deemed anti-national or disruptive, leading to multiple arrests across Gujarat. As many as 17 individuals, including Soni, have so far been detained in Gujarat for objectionable posts related to the operation.

Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said that Soni was detained by police as if they were catching a terrorist. Criticising the action. Gohil said his party colleague only tried to highlight that soldiers need to get their due credit instead of government spending taxpayers money on publicity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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