Four arrested for circulating objectionable SMS in Pune

The Pune police have arrested four persons for allegedly circulating objectionable SMSes with the aim of creating enmity between two religions.

The suspects were identified as Arif Munnawar Khan (47) of Bibvewadi,Mohammed Afzal Abdul Rehman Khan (38) of Bhagyoday Nagar,Kondhwa,Imran Irfan Khan (39) of Sanjay Park,Viman Nagar and Sarfaraz Mohammed Iqbal Khan (32) of Mamta Nagar,Sangvi. They have been booked under Section 153 (a) of the IPC for creating enmity between two groups on grounds of religion and Section 66 (a) (c) of the Information Technology Act. Two offences were registered at the Cantonment and Kondhwa police stations after the attacks on Northeast students and working professionals in the city.

Around 15 youths from the Northeast were attacked or threatened in Pune since August 8 and later thousands left the city. Probe revealed rumours spread through SMSes and a doctored MMS clip had triggered the incidents.

The cyber cell of Pune police found that four suspects were involved in circulating these objectionable SMSes. DCP (cyber cell) Sanjay Shinde said,“All four suspects are well-educated and are employed at different private firms.” The suspects were arrested on Monday.