AHMEDABAD: In reaction to a contentious religious social media post, the Gujarat DGP on Wednesday suspended Police Inspector (PI) Nishant Solanki of Vadodara city’s Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB). He allegedly made derogatory remarks about Hinduism and its rituals.
This is the first instance in Gujarat when a police officer is facing action for posting such content on social media that allegedly incited religious animosity.
Vadodra in-charge Police Commissioner Manoj Ninama told TNIE: “We discovered that this post was made by ND Solanki, a police officer from Vadodara.
A cyber investigation revealed that the two posts on his Facebook page that offended people’s religious feelings were made from Solanki’s phone. We’re looking into whether he made the post or if his phone was hacked.”
Ninama said there is a DGP circular for police officers about social media posts, and that Solanki’s Facebook posts violated the law. “I investigated the case. N.D. Solanki was suspended at the conclusion of the investigation.” said Ninama.
Sources said the state home ministry received complaints from Hindu organizations that a police officer’s social media post was offensive to Hindu religious sensitivities. The PI of PCB’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell allegedly mocked Hindu deities and questioned Hindu worship rituals on social media.
Neeraj Doneria, the coordinator of the Himachal Pradesh Bajrang Dal, wrote to the Gujarat Home Ministry in response to his post, requesting that action be taken against the police officer “who is constantly insulting Hinduism.” The Gujarat Home Department launched an official investigation in response to his complaint.