Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Mar 29: Mahesh Vikram Hegde, founder of right-leaning Postcard News, has been arrested by the Karnataka police under Sections 153A, 295A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
Section 153 of IPC deals with attempt to promote enmity between religious groups, Section 295A addresses deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage sentiments, and Section 120B of IPC refers to criminal conspiracy.
It is learnt that he was arrested for the recent fake news on Postcard website alleging that Muslim youth had attacked a Jain sage, whereas the reality was that the sage had met with an accident. A case had been registered against Hegde over this fake news, and he was arrested on Thursday March 29. Sources said that he was just returning from a meeting with BJP president Yeddyurappa in Bengaluru, when the police arrested him.
Postcard News, that is known for often publishing and circulating fake news especially those that are communally divisive in nature, is run by Mahesh Hegde. In November 2017, an FIR had been registered against Postcard News for publishing an alleged derogatory post. Incidentally, Mahesh Hegde is followed by PM Narendra Modi on Twitter, a fact that Hegde proudly proclaims in his Twitter profile.
BJP MP Pratap Simha, who is considered close to Mahesh Hegde, tweeted about the arrest, attacking the ruling Congress government. However, he got the facts wrong, as contrary to his claim, Hegde was not arrested under Section 66 of the IT Act but under the IPC sections.