Uttar Pradesh: 28-Year-Old Arrested for Circulating Objectionable Image of Lord Shiva on Social Media

A 28-year-old man has been arrested here for allegedly circulating an objectionable picture of Lord Shiva on social media, police said on Saturday. The accused, Sandeep Gautam alias Ranjan, from Meuli village in the Pakadi area posted the picture on Facebook, they said.Based on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Mukesh Yadav, a case was registered against Gautam under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 353 (2) (statements conducing to public mischief) and under the Information Technology Amendment Act on Friday.

In June 2025 a 22-year old man was arrested in Sonbhadra district for allegedly posting an "objectionable" video related to Lord Ram on social media. The post allegedly contained a video and comments deemed offensive to Lord Ram and disrespectful to Hinduism, potentially hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.Circle Officer (Obra) Harsh Pandey said the police received a complaint  regarding a post made by Suraj Jatav, a local, on his Instagram account. Pandey said, “Such actions could have disturbed communal harmony and posed a threat to public peace.” To maintain law and order, police registered a case against Jatav under BNS sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) as well as under provisions of the Information Technology Act.