Mehaboob, an Indian soldier who hails from Kerala has been arrested for allegedly backing a Facebook comment that encouraged to fire upon Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. The arrest was made by military police from Jammu and Kashmir, and the investigation officers also seized seven sim cards and multiple smartphones from his possession.
Incident associated with the arrest
The alleged incident associated with the arrest happened last December when Mehaboob made multiple posts against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In his post, Mehboob asked those who favour CAA to unfriend him from Facebook. Beneath this post, a man asked Mehaboob to shoot down Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.
"When Narendra Modi or Amit Shah comes near you at any point in time, do not hesitate to shoot them down. We will give you a grand welcome here," read the Facebook comment on Mehaboob's post.
Shockingly, Mehaboob responded by giving consent and a positive nod to this comment. He also posted love emoticon as a reply to the person who asked to kill Narendra Modi and Shah.
The comments made by Mehboob soon went viral, and several complaints were sent to the Union Home Ministry and Defense Ministry. Upon initial investigation, military police decided to arrest Mehaboob, and they have now started interrogating him.
Connection with terrorist groups?
During the probe, investigative officers discovered that Mehaboob has been posting anti-national remarks on Facebook using fake accounts. It has been revealed that he has 11 fake accounts on Facebook alone. Mehaboob also uses six WhatsApp and two telegram accounts.
As per reports published in Malayalam television channel Janam TV, investigation officers are also connecting information about Mehaboob's Facebook friends. A separate investigation is already in progress to determine whether Mehaboob has any connection with terrorist groups.
