BANGALORE/BELGAUM: A few days after a man was picked up in Goa for posting anti-Narendra Modi messages on a social networking site, the Central Crime Branch of the Bangalore city police on Saturday night took a 24-year-old MBA student in custody for offensive messages against the prime minister-designate.

The Bangalore arrest was based on a complaint lodged in Belgaum district by RTI activist Jayant Mukund Tinaikar. In his complaint, Jayant alleged that he received an offensive message against Modi on WhatsApp on May 16.

Belgaum police forwarded the complaint to the Bangalore police commissionerate and the central crime branch was given the case. During investigation, police found that the message originated in Bangalore and was sent by Sayed Waqar, an MBA student from Anjuman Institute of Management in Bhatkal, Uttara Kannada district. Waqar was in Bangalore for internship for a month.

On Saturday, sleuths of the central crime branch raided a flat in Hoysala Apartments, Vasantnagar, Bangalore where Waqar was staying. Four others living with him were questioned and let off but Waqar was arrested.

Hemanth Nimbalkar, joint commissioner of police, crime said Bangalore police only assisted Belgaum in the arrest and had no jurisdiction. "We were requested by Belgaum police to make the arrest. Following the raid and questioning, we learnt that the four people living with Waqar had no role in the case. So we only arrested Waqar. We have handed him over to Belgaum police," he said.

Nimbalkar said Waqar claimed to be an Aam Aadmi Party worker but they could not verify it.

Waqar has been booked under Section 505 of the IPC for issuing statements amounting to public mischief with intent to cause fear or alarm and Section 66 of IT Act for sending offensive messages through communication service.

Jayant, whose complaint to police resulted in the cracking of the multi-crore stamp paper scam involving Abdul Kareem Telgi, said: "I received an offending image that also showed BJP leaders LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Baba Ramdev, Maneka Gandhi, Varun Gandhi and others. I called back the sender's number and came to know that it was from Bhatkal. I immediately brought it to the notice of senior BJP leaders in Delhi, who in turn told me to immediately approach the superintendent of police and file a complaint."

The accused is likely to be produced before a court in Khanapur, Belgaum district on Monday.