Express News Service By

MADURAI: An executive committee member of the state BJP’s information technology cell has been arrested over Facebook posts expressing joy over the death of pilgrims in a recent crane collapse during the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

B Velmurugan, who was arrested on Sunday on the complaint of one Ajmer Ali from Tirumangalam, had also posted that he would be happy even if the people who died in the incident were his neighbours.

According to police, the controversial posts were noticed on Saturday by some Muslims in Ramanathapuram district, who informed their friends in Tirumangalam. Velmurugan was remanded to judicial custody by a magistrate.

Though the posts have been removed, Velmurugan’s Facebbok account shows that he had made many “offensive” posts about Muslims in the past.

Following the death of former President A P J Abdul Kalam, Velmurugan had posted that Kalam was the only Muslim who loved India and that he was the only Muslim loved by Hindus.

According to police, Velmurugan, who holds a bachelors degree in information technology, is running a computer centre in Tirumangalam. He was appointed to his present post in the BJP on March 2, as shown in a letter he shared on Facebook. He was booked under various IPC Sections, including 153A (promoting enmity between different communities), 295A, 505 (1)(c) and 505 (2).