Facebook row: cops may drop charges against girls

The Maharashtra police are likely to drop the charges against the two Palghar women for their comments on Facebook protesting the shutdown of Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on November 17. HT reports.

The Maharashtra police are likely to drop the charges against the two Palghar women for their comments on Facebook protesting the shutdown of Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on November 17.

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The police are also likely to initiate punitive action against the cops who arrested them.

An inquiry report on the incident was submitted to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday, indicting senior and junior officers for misusing the Indian Penal Code and misinterpreting the IT Act.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) wrote to the superintendent of police (SP), Thane (rural), asking for the case papers.

A letter signed by Arjun Dangat, senior counselor at the MSCW, has also asked the SP to send "a report on the action taken by (police) department".

The letter mentions the complaint filed by former bureaucrat and lawyer Abha Singh regarding the violation of human rights and SC guidelines in the case.

Abha Singh said, "This is crucial as the police case papers come under privileged information, meaning you cannot ask for it even under the Right to Information Act. However, since the MSCW is a statutory body, the police will have to send the case papers."