Abusive post about Puneeth Rajkumar sparks outrage; B'luru police trace, arrest teen in 24 hours

The untimely death of Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar left the entire nation in shock, especially fans down south who adored the Kannada Power Star. Puneeth, who died on Friday due to cardiac arrest, was laid to rest with full state honours at Kanteerava Studios on Sunday, 31 October. Thousands of people rushed to Kanteerva Stadium to get a last glimpse of their favourite superstar before he was buried. Despite being an emotional and tense situation, Puneeth's fans maintained decorum and peace - to the extent where Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai thanked the actor's fans for maintaining law and order for three days while paying last respects to the legend.

Amidst all this, one social media post triggered outrage online, leaving hundreds and thousands of netizens furious. It was a Story posted on Instagram by user @ritvikks, screenshots of which went viral across all social media platforms.

In the post, the user identified as Ritvik Sharma, was seen holding a bottle of beer alongside some derogatory remarks about Puneeth Rajkumar. The user appeared to be carrying alcohol at a time when sale of liquor was banned across the city for three days. This post was not only insensitive but offensive to millions of Rajkumar fans, who was lovingly called as "Appu" by his fans.

Bengaluru Police steps in

When the screenshots of the user's derogatory Instagram Story was shared by an offended fan on Twitter, while tagging Bengaluru Police and Commissioner Kamal Pant, it didn't go unnoticed.

Taking immediate notice of the matter, the Bengaluru Police jumped into action and roped in the cybercrime wing to trace down the user.

In a matter of 24 hours, the accused was not only arrested but legal action was being pursued against him, Pant, IPS, confirmed in a tweet late on Tuesday.