UP man detained for sending obscene texts to BJP’s Shaina NC

According to an officer from Cyber police station, the BJP leader approached them last Wednesday and lodged a complaint against an unidentified person for sending her vulgar messages...

Officials from Cyber police station of the Mumbai crime branch detained a person in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly sending vulgar messages to Shaina NC, the national spokesperson of BJP. Police are verifying the involvement of the accused before arresting and framing charges against him.

BJP national spokesperson Shaina NC. (HT file)

“I fought for my dignity by registering a police complaint. Many women in such situations get scared and hesitate. I want them to come out and file FIRs against such harassment,” Shaina told HT.

According to an officer from Cyber police station, the BJP leader approached them last Wednesday and lodged a complaint against an unidentified person for sending her vulgar messages. Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered under Section 354 (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 (transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

In her statement, Shaina told the police that she had received several vulgar messages on WhatsApp. She even provided the police with the mobile number from which the messages were sent.

Commenting on the issue, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, “We are unaware of any party worker indulging in such acts. The identity of the accused is yet to be revealed. But anyone indulging in such activities should be punished, irrespective of his political affiliations.”

In a similar incident, the Vile Parle police arrested a man from Jalgaon for sending abusive SMSes to two women Member of Legislative Council (MLC), one from Shiv Sena and another from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) .