Hindu College Prof. Ratan Lal Arrested For A Post On Gyanvapi Mosque Case

Cong. leader Digvijay Singh has condemned the professor's arrest.

Ahead of the Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque case, a history professor with Delhi University's Hindu College was arrested last night over a social media post that appeared to question claims of a 'Shivling' found inside Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque complex, police said.

Ratan Lal is an associate professor at Hindu College. He was arrested by officers of north Delhi's Cyber Police Station, accused of promoting enmity between groups on grounds of religion and committing "acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony".

According to the officials, FIR against Mr.Lal was registered Tuesday night following a police complaint by a Delhi-based lawyer. In his complaint, advocate Vineet Jindal said Mr.Lal recently shared a "derogatory, inciting and provocative tweet on the Shivling".

The statement made by Mr.Lal in a tweet is "instigating and provoking", the lawyer said in the complaint. The issue is very sensitive and is pending before the court, he added.

While defending his post, earlier, he said:  "In India, if you speak about anything, someone or the other's sentiment will be hurt. So this is nothing new. I am a historian and have made several observations. As I wrote them down, I have used very guarded language in my post and still this. I will defend myself."

Last week, in a tweet by Mr. Lal, his 20-year-son was receiving threats on Facebook messenger after his tweet on the Gyanvapi mosque issue.

Besides his teaching job, Mr Lal is the founder and editor-in-chief of Ambedkarnama, a news portal focusing on Dalit issues. His Twitter bio also describes him as an "activist, writer and a child of Ambedkariate Revolution".

Congress leader Digvijay Singh has condemned the professor's arrest. "I strongly condemn Prof Ratan Lal's arrest. He has the Constitutional Right of opinion and expression," he tweeted.