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Amid ongoing military tensions between India and Pakistan, a 19-year-old engineering student from Pune has been arrested for allegedly sharing controversial content on social media that included phrases such as "Pakistan Zindabad" and posts perceived to be critical of Hindutva ideology.
According to ANI, the young woman, identified as Khadija Sheikh, is a second-year Information Technology student at a private engineering college in Pune. She resides in the Kondhwa area and was apprehended by Pune City Police after her Instagram story - featuring screenshots of tweets from Pakistani accounts - went viral, drawing attention from local authorities.
The shared content reportedly included nationalist slogans from Pakistani social media users as well as statements referencing "Hindutva extremism," prompting concerns that it could provoke unrest or public disharmony, particularly in the current sensitive climate.
The police have not officially disclosed the specific motivation behind Sheikh's post, but they have emphasised that the nature of the content, in light of heightened India-Pakistan hostilities, warranted immediate legal scrutiny. The cross-border conflict intensified following India's recent military action against terror camps across the Line of Control, and the subsequent retaliation by Pakistani forces.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5), Rajkumar Shinde, confirmed the arrest in a statement. "She has been booked under sections 152, 196, 197, 299, 352, and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway," he said, as per ANI reports.
Following the arrest, Sheikh's Instagram account has reportedly been deleted.
Meanwhile, The Maharashtra government has issued "security directives" to fishermen operating off the Palghar coast and asked them to be vigilant to keep the country's maritime border safe amid ongoing Indo-Pak conflict, an official said here.
The directives were issued after a meeting with senior Indian Navy officials regarding enhancing coastal surveillance, he told PTI on Friday.
The state government is also trying to ensure that most fishing boats are equipped with transponders so that their locations can be tracked.
Authorities have identified two locations near the Palghar coast, north of Mumbai where fishermen routinely gather and asked them not to assemble there, the government official said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
