People gather at Kargil Chowk in Patna on Sunday to protest against the Pulwama terror attack

NEW DELHI: At least eight more people were arrested while a total of 15 were booked on Sunday across the country for posting anti-national content on social media in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack.

In Uttar Pradesh, a youth from Ballia district was arrested on Sunday for his Facebook post lauding Adil Ahmad Dar - the suicide bomber responsible for the death of more than 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama - for carrying out the attack. Ravi Prakash Maurya was booked under IPC Section 153A (promoting enmity) and Section 66 of IT Act. Police also booked a 22-year-old youth in Bijnor and another youth in Muzaffarnagar for their pro-Pakistan and inflammatory social media posts.

A 20-year-old engineering dropout Faiz Rasheed was arrested from east Bengaluru for allegedly hailing fidayeen terrorist Dar as a hero of Kashmir through his Facebook posts, said cops.

Bihar Police arrested two youths - Mohammad Imran (19) from Samastipur and Mohammad Tausif Alam (21) from Katihar - for allegedly posting anti-national content on Twitter and Facebook regarding the attack.

In Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district, a 19-year-old youth was Sameer Khan was booked under IPC Section 153A (promoting enmity) for allegedly posting "Pakistan Zindabad" on his social media account after the attack. He will be produced in court on Monday.

Four Kashmiri girls - all 2nd-year paramedical students of Jaipur's National Institute of Medical Sciences - were booked for sedition on Sunday, a day after the institute suspended them for posting anti-national content on social media. On Friday, the accused Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir had shared a celebratory picture on their WhatsApp status and allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans.

Three nursing students from Kashmir - Waquar Ahmat alias Harris Masoor (19), Gowhar Mustaq (21) and Zakir Maqbol (23) - were arrested in Bengaluru on Saturday for allegedly posting anti-national messages on Facebook, criticising Indian Army and supporting Dar. The matter was brought notice of the NIA and on its directive, the accused were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

In Assam's Guwahati, an assistant professor of a private college was booked for her Facebook post describing the Pulwama attack as "cowardice of the highest order" while adding that atrocities by security forces in the Kashmir valley cannot be overlooked in discussions on terror. Police are questioning Banerjee, who was suspended by her college with immediate effect.

Tahsin Gul, Kashmiri student of Himachal's Chitkara University, who was arrested on Saturday for empathising with Dar, was presented in court on Sunday and sent to judicial custody till February 28.

