Rudrapur: An 18-year-old youth was detained by city police after he liked a Facebook post supporting the Khalistan movement for a separate Sikh nation. The youth was let off later after he gave a written apology and deactivated his social media account.

The incident took place on Saturday. The station house officer (SHO) of Rudrapur police station, Kailash Chandra Bhatt, said the local intelligence unit of the district police detained the 18-year-old after they found that he ‘liked’ a poem, which was espousing the cause of Khalistan, on Facebook.

During interrogation, the youth told the police that he ‘liked’ the post “by mistake.”

“Since there was no criminal record of the youth, we decided to let him go. After we received a written apology from him, we directed him to deactivate his Facbeook account,” said SHO Bhatt.

“We are trying to find the people who shared the post. The media cell of the police is investigating the matter,” added Bhatt.

Earlier in September last year, two youths were arrested on charges of sedition from Haldighera village in Khatima area of Rudrapur district for running a social media campaign to promote the Khalistan issue.

