Indore cartoonist booked for 'objectionable' social media content on RSS man's complaint

Indore, May 22 (PTI) A cartoonist in Indore in Madhya Pradesh was booked on the complaint of an RSS functionary for allegedly posting objectionable content on social media, a police official said on Thursday.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist and city-based lawyer Vinay Joshi, in his complaint at Lasudiya police station on Wednesday night, claimed the contents of Hemant Malviya's cartoons are "offensive", "obscene" and "indecent" and that he was intentionally posting them on social media to hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and tarnish the image of the RSS.

An official said the contents posted on Malviya's Facebook account include comments, cartoons, videos and photos related to Lord Shiva, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS etc.

Malviya has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 196 (acts detrimental to communal harmony), 299 (deliberate act intended to hurt religious sentiments) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to breach peace) and section 67A of Information Technology Act (publication or transmission of material depicting sexually explicit acts in electronic form), Lasudiya police station in charge Tareesh Soni told PTI.

He is yet to be arrested and a probe is underway, Soni added.

Incidentally, Malviya's Facebook profile includes a disclaimer stating all characters in his cartoons are "fictional," and any resemblance to real persons is "coincidental" and based on "viewers' imagination". He has around 40,000 followers on Facebook. PTI HWP LAL BNM