MANGALURU:

on Tuesday have arrested

, 27, a former telecom company executive and resident of Balaji Nagar, Uttarahalli in Bengaluru on charges of posting objectionable message on social media networking site against a particular religious community. Sriram arrested in Bengaluru was brought to the city and produced before the jurisdictional court on Wednesday, which remanded him in to judicial custody.

Fr William Menezes, public relations officer of

Catholic Diocese had lodged complaint with Mangaluru City Police against Sriram based on his comments on Facebook. The complaint alleged that the comments questioned the basic tenets of Christianity. The comments, Fr William said were also an affront to the Indian Constitution which upheld secularism and also created a situation of creating a rift between two communities and causing law and order problem.

A case was registered against Sriram in Mangaluru South police station under section 66 of IT Act and sections 153A, 153B and 295A of IPC, commissioner of police S Murugan said. Incidentally, Catholic Sabha, Mangaluru Pradesh, taking offence to what it described were derogatory references and writings about Christianity, Jesus Christ, Mother Mary and Mother Teresa in social media platforms, writings and speeches, had sought arrests of those involved.

The Indian Constitution respects and gives equal opportunity to all religions. However, certain vested interests are trying to vitiate the atmosphere with such acts, Flavy D’Souza, president of the Catholic Sabha, stated, and had urged the state and central governments, and authorities concerned to take strict action against people who indulge in such acts. The Sabha had warned it would resort to democratic means of agitation if the authorities failed to do so.