In several areas of Pune city in Maharashtra, stickers featuring the flag of Israel were discovered affixed to roads. In response to this incident, the police have filed four First Information Reports (FIRs) against multiple individuals.
According to the police, some people allegedly pasted stickers of the Israel flag on roads in Kondhwa, Bhawani Peth, Nana Peth and Pune cantonment areas with the intention of disturbing social harmony and disrespect late Friday night, against the backdrop of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
The cases have been registered under Indian Penal Code Section 153, specifically Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot if rioting be committed if not committed). These FIRs have been filed with the Samarth, Khadak, Lashkar, and Kondhwa police stations, as confirmed by the officials.
Some people pasted Israel flag stickers on roads in the jurisdiction of Samarth and Khadak police stations. We have registered two offences against five people," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sandeep Singh Gill said. An offence was also registered against four people for the alleged act with Lashkar police station, DCP (Zone II) Smartana Patil said.