TN BJP office-bearer found guilty of insulting religions

CHENNAI: A city court on Tuesday sentenced state BJP functionary R Kalyanaraman to 163 days in Jail for making derogatory remarks against Islam and Christianity. He was booked by the Chennai police’s Cybercrime wing in 2021.

The 55-year-old man however need not be spending a day in jail as the court had directed that the days he had spent in jail between October 17, 2021, and March 28, 2022, shall be set off against the punishment. Meanwhile, Kalyanaraman, who is the in-charge of BJP’s intellectual cell, said that he will file an appeal against the verdict.

Kalyanaraman, who was detained under the Goondas act by the Tamil Nadu police, was booked by the cybercrime wing of the city police’s CCB (Central Crime Branch) in 2021, based on a complaint by M Gopinath, an advocate and a member of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).

In his complaint, Gopinath had attached a series of tweets by Kalyanaraman in which he posted derogatory messages about Muslims and Christians among others. He also stated that the elected government in the state was behaving like Taliban supporters. Police had detained him under the Goondas act, which was set aside by the Madras high court in April 2022.

“His social media posts were such that it would create unrest among followers of different religions in the state,” Gopinath had stated in his complaint. He was booked under sections 153 (A) (1)(a) (promoting enmity between different regional/language/caste groups) and 505 (2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred, or ill-will between classes).

When the case came up for final hearing before the Additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Egmore, he was found guilty under sections 153A (1)(a) and 505 (2) (19 counts).

Reacting to the judgment, Advocate M Gopinath told DT Next, “It is not a personal victory but of the society. I hope judgments like this serve as a reminder to hatemongers who spew venom on social media to disturb the society’s fabric.”