Panaji: The Crime Branch of Goa police on Thursday obtained a two-day police custody for Kenneth Silveira, arrested for a fake Facebook book saying “Parrikar is no more”.
The Crime Branch said at the court of the Judicial Magistrate First class(JMFC) that 35-year-old Mr. Silveira had posted fake information about the Chief Minister’s “death” as revenge for losing the 2017 Assembly by-polls to Manohar Parrikar.
In its application to the trial court seeking remand for Mr. Silveira, the Crime Branch has also said that it is in the process of tracking down all Facebook groups and members who have links to the accused.
“The accused person had contested the state assembly elections in 2017 from Panaji constituency and had lost the elections to Mr. Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa. The accused has revengefully used the social media to post such ill feelings amongst the public,” Police Inspector Rajan Nigalye said in his application filed before Vijayalaxmi Shivolkar, JMFC, Panaji.
Mr. Silveira got only 96 votes in that by-poll in Panaji.
Mr. Silveira was arrested on Wednesday night under Section 505 of the Indian Penal Code (circulation of fake information to cause public panic).
After visitors to his wall informed him of the blunder, Mr. Silveira accepted that his message was wrong, , but did not delete the fake message.
The FIR was filed by the Crime Branch following a complaint lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party Panaji unit chief Deepak Mhapshekar.
Congress criticises arrest
On Thursday, the Opposition parties criticised the government and police for the arrest of Mr. Silveira.
All India Congress Committee secretary Girish Chodankar told presspersons that while Mr. Silveira’s post on Facebook was “not right”, arresting him was “purely over-reach”.
“This is nothing but intimidation. Mr. Silveira was not right in putting up that post. But in the absence of a regular medical bulletin on the health of the Chief Minister, there is bound to be speculation,” Mr. Chodankar said.
He also said that the arrest only exposed the government’s “dictatorial tendencies”.
The Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), Goa, also condemned the arrest of Mr. Silveira.
“Last year, a sadhvi at a public meeting in Goa had said that those who eat beef should be hung in a public square. The police did not arrest her. Neither the government moved. Here one Facebook message results in immediate arrest. This is downright unfair,” AAP’s Goa general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar said.
