Narpat Singh, circle inspector, AmbaMata police station, said the teacher was arrested under Section 153 (B) (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Wednesday. She was later produced before a court and was released on bail.
A private school teacher in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district was arrested on Wednesday, a day after she was terminated by the school management for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status celebrating Pakistan’s victory in a T20 World Cup match against India on October 24, police said, adding that she was released on bail by a local court.
The teacher’s alleged WhatsApp status generated huge backlash on social media, after a school student’s parent questioned her patriotism. (AFP)
Narpat Singh, circle inspector, AmbaMata police station, said the teacher was arrested under Section 153 (B) (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Wednesday. She was later produced before a court and was released on bail.
Her alleged WhatsApp status generated huge backlash on social media, after a school student’s parent questioned her patriotism. She was subsequently terminated by the school management. She released an apology, claiming her WhatsApp status was misunderstood and taken out of context.
“As the message [from the parent] had emojis and it was in light moments, I replied in Yes. But it doesn’t mean anywhere that I support Pakistan. I am an Indian and I love India. I love India as much as everyone else,” the teacher said in her apology.
She further said, “As soon as I realised that I had made a mistake, I deleted the status message... realising it was giving a wrong message. I am sorry if I have hurt anybody’s sentiments.”
Senior Congress leader Archana Sharma said it was a legal issue and law will take its own course.
Sachin Saini is Special Correspondent for Rajasthan. He covers politics, tourism, forest, home, panchayati raj and rural development, and development journalism.