Palghar police grilled in inquiry

Inspector General (IG Konkan Range) Sukhvinder Singh, who is doing an inquiry into the arrest of two Palghar girls, visited the Palghar police station on Wednesday. He spoke to officers involved in the detention and arrests of the girls and sought details of the FIR.

Inspector General (IG Konkan Range) Sukhvinder Singh, who is doing an inquiry into the arrest of two Palghar girls, visited the Palghar police station on Wednesday. He spoke to officers involved in the detention and arrests of the girls and sought details of the FIR.

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High-ranking officers are monitoring the investigation till a chargesheet is filed in the case, said sources. “The IG spoke at length to the investigating and senior officials asking them if legal advice had been sought before booking the girls,” said an official from the Palghar police.

The state has ordered an inq-uiry into the arrests of Shaheen Dhada, who had posted the comment, and her friend, Rinu Srinivasan, who liked it. The girls were initially booked under the Indian Penal code sections 295A for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feeling or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, and section 66A of the Information Technology Act for sending offensive messages through communication services.

Section 295A was replaced with section 505 (2) for making statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between masses.

‘RR Patil did not order girls’ arrest’
The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday came to the rescue of home minister RR Patil, over the arrest of two Palghar girls.
“He had not ordered the arrest of the girls,’’ party spokesperson Nawab Malik said.

He also said that at the end of the day, the buck rested with both chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Patil.
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