A man was arrested in Kanpur on Thursday for allegedly posting inappropriate and offensive videos on Instagram that targeted Lord Ram and other revered Hindu deities. The videos, which quickly went viral, sparked outrage across social media platforms and were later removed following swift police action.
According to officials, the videos contained derogatory remarks and inflammatory comments aimed at Hindu religious sentiments. The Instagram account, identified under the name “Shahid,” had uploaded multiple such videos that provoked anger among the public. After receiving numerous complaints and seeing the rising tension online, the police took immediate action to identify and apprehend the accused.
The man was later identified as Shahid alias Munna, a resident of Gangaganj village in Kanpur. He worked as an auto-rickshaw driver and had recently created the Instagram account through which the objectionable content was shared. Authorities confirmed that several videos from the account were reviewed and found to contain obscene and provocative material directed at the Hindu faith and its deities.
Station in-charge Manvendra Singh stated that Shahid was taken into custody under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to promoting enmity between groups and hurting religious sentiments. He added that the police acted promptly to avoid any potential law and order situation, given the sensitivity of the content.
The account was deactivated, and all offensive content was taken down by the authorities. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the accused acted independently or had any connections with extremist groups or larger conspiracies aimed at creating communal disharmony.
Local residents expressed shock over the incident and called for strict punishment to deter such acts in the future.
