Rinu Srinivasan, who was arrested for the ‘like’ comment on her friend’s post against the bandh following Bal Thackeray’s death, tells Imran Fazal that the cops should not have been punished What was your parent’s reaction?Both the families supported us. They  knew that we had done no wrong.

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Do you think the action against the policemen was justified?No, they  should have not been punished. They had protected us from the mob outside the police station that day. But if they have done anything wrong as per the law, they  should be punished.

Why did you ‘like’ your friend’s comment?It was our personal opinion and we did not intend to hurt anybody as we respect him [Bal Thackeray]. In the last two days, malicious content were posted against MNS chief Raj Thackeray and the late Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Is it in the right spirit of freedom of speech?I think freedom of speech is important in a democracy, but it should not be used to abuse anyone... Abusive and obscene posts should not be posted as it might hurt someone.Do you think the media played a crucial role by highlighting the issue?I would like to thank the media a trillion, billion, million times as they supported us, highlighted the issue and brought us justice. I would also like to thank Delhi law student Shreya Singhal for filing the PIL in the SC and referring to our case so that no one will suffer like us. I also want to thank justice Makrandey Katju for supporting us.

Have you reactivated your Facebook account?Yes, I have. I was  shocked to get thousands of messages from friends and unknown persons. There  were several friend requests too.