Two women in Mumbai, India have been arrested in India for their recent Facebook activities. As the city shut down for the weekend funeral of a powerful politician, one woman wrote on Facebook that it was "due to fear, not due to respect" and her friend liked the comment.
Shaheen Dhada, a 21-year-old college student wrote the message as her Facebook status update and her friend Renu Srinivasan clicked the "like" button. The arrests were seen as a move by police to prevent any outbreak of violence by supporters of Bal Thackeray, a powerful Hindu fundamentalist politician who died Saturday.
The controversial leader has been hailed by Hindu nationalists but also criticized by liberals for leaving behind a legacy of political violence in India's financial capital. The party has been accused of anti-Muslim violence in Mumbai in 1992, and Thackeray frequently made statements against Muslims.
According to Reuters, Dhada and Ms. Srinivasan were arrested under section 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code that seeks to punish statements that amount to "creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes."
The two students have also been charged with Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that criminalizes online speech that is "grossly offensive or of menacing character." Another law they have been charged with is Indian Penal Code 295A, which makes insulting or outraging religious feelings an offense. The punishment for each count is three years imprisonment each.
