'Offensive' FB posts land UP man in prison for six weeks

An 18-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly jailed for 42 days after he wrote Facebook posts debating the promise made by BJP leaders to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya, making fun of the Ganga being declared a living entity by a court and questioning the Centre's Haj subsidy.

The posts of Zakir Ali Tyagi of Western UP's Muzaffarnagar were seen as offensive by the UP police which slapped charges of section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and section 66 of the Information Technology Act, sources said. Tyagi said he was jailed in the company of hardened criminals.

Tyagi, who was brought to the Press Club in Delhi by Bhim Army Defence Committee on Tuesday, said that the ordeal has left him without a job now. "On April 2, when I was coming back from a madrassa, I was picked up by the police for questioning and sent to jail where I had to pay even to relieve myself," Tyagi told reporters. He was finally let off after 42 days when he furnished bail.