Mangalore, Sep 26: A Bangalore-based techie was arrested for spreading offensive messages in social media and misinterpreting a photograph posted by coastaldigest.com.

The arrested has been identified as Shyam Prasad Bhat(37), a native of Belthangady, who works for Hewlett Packard (HP) private limited in Bangalore.

A team of police from Mangalore North Police Station arrested Bhat at Judicial Layout in Bangalore brought him to Mangalore on Friday, sources said.

Bhat, who reportedly owes allegiance to Sangh Parivar, had indulged in spreading offensive messages through WhatsApp and Facebook.

He had apparently insulted Kudroli Sri Gokarnatheshwara Temple and its pioneer B Janardhan Poojary by misinterpreting a photo posted on Coastaldigest.com approximately two years ago.

Beneath the photo, Bhat had written: œA religious bigot called Janardhan Poojary had distributed chicken, mutton biriyani and had desecrated the religious place ¦  Based on a complaint filed by Temple treasurer Padmaraj, a case was booked under IPC Section 295 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) in August this year.

The photograph in question was captured in August 2012 by Coastaldigest.com photographer when a group of Muslims shared the joy of Eid by holding'Eid Souharda Koota' at Kudroli temple premises.

The organizers had distributed pure vegetarian delicacies to the devotees. It was evident that Bhat deliberately tried to mislead the people with the help of a lie that non-vegetarian food was served in the temple.

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