Lucknow, Mar 20: A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district on Thursday granted bail to the 11th standard student, who had been arrested by the police for allegedly posting an “objectionable” comment attributing to senior state minister Azam Khan.
The court had on Wednesday remanded the boy to 14-day judicial custody. The accused was likely to walk out of the jail on Thursday evening after furnishing two bail bonds of Rs 20, 000 each.
The Rampur cops, who had shown uncharacteristic alacrity in making the arrest the boy after Azam Khan lodged a complaint in this regard, had booked the boy for breach of peace and under section 66 A of the IT Act.
The cops however found themselves staring at trouble after the Supreme Court asked them to explain the arrest of the boy.
The quick arrest and the invoking tough sections on an 11th standard student had evoked sharp reactions from the opposition parties and social organizations. Some police officials here also were of the opinion that the boy should not have been arrested.
“The district cops are going to have a tough time in justifying the arrest,” said a senior police official here.
Azam Khan, however, had said that he had been receiving threatening calls after the post was uploaded. “The law has taken its course,” he had told reporters here on Wednesday.
A large number of rights activists led by social worker Nutan Thakur on Thursday held a “This is complete state highhandedness undertaken purely on Azam Khan’s pressure,” Thakur said.
She said that the arrest showed the draconian face of the state administration, which has also defied the Supreme Court directions on application of section 66A of the IT Act. “It reflects that powerful politicians are using police to silence the freedom of expression and to satisfy their personal ego,” she added.
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