1 week ago
TMC leader arrested in Siliguri over posts about Suvendu
Police in Siliguri arrested TMC leader Debashis De over social-media posts.
Police said the posts were objectionable and concerned Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
They said De refused to delete them when asked.
Police also said an argument happened before he was arrested.
De denied the allegations.
He said his post was a response to something the Chief Minister had said.
He also asked whether ordinary people would still have freedom of speech.
The case is being investigated, while a parliamentary committee is separately reviewing how social-media companies operate.
West Bengal Police arrested TMC leader Debashis De in Siliguri on Monday night.
Police alleged that De posted objectionable content about Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Facebook.
Police said De refused to remove the posts, leading to an altercation before his arrest.
De denied making objectionable posts and questioned the impact on ordinary citizens’ freedom of speech.
A parliamentary committee is separately examining social-media regulation and Meta’s temporary removal of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Who
- TMC leader Debashis De and Bengal Police; the posts allegedly concerned Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
- What
- De was arrested over allegedly objectionable Facebook content and was produced before the Siliguri subdivision court.
- Where
- Siliguri, West Bengal, particularly Ward 25 and the Siliguri police station.
- When
- He was arrested on Monday night and produced in court on Tuesday.
- Why
- Police alleged that De posted objectionable content and refused to remove it; De disputed the allegation and cited freedom of speech.
Police Allegations
Debashis De’s Response
Nature of the Facebook posts
Police Allegations
Police alleged that De’s Facebook profile contained several objectionable posts concerning Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Debashis De’s Response
De denied making any objectionable post against the Chief Minister and said his post responded to a statement by him.
Removal of content and arrest
Police Allegations
Police said De refused to delete the posts, after which an altercation occurred and he was arrested.
Debashis De’s Response
De questioned whether ordinary citizens would retain freedom of speech if people were arrested in this manner.
Accountability of social-media platforms
Police Allegations
The parliamentary committee said Meta’s temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Facebook post raised serious questions about platform accountability.
Debashis De’s Response
Meta reportedly attributed the removal to a technical error, an explanation the committee rejected.
Key facts
- Arrested person
- Debashis De, a TMC leader and resident of Siliguri’s Ward 25
- Police allegation
- De posted allegedly objectionable content about Suvendu Adhikari on Facebook
- Police action
- Police asked De to remove the posts; he was later arrested after an alleged altercation
- Court appearance
- De was produced before the Siliguri subdivision court on Tuesday
- De’s response
- He denied making an objectionable post and said it responded to a statement by the Chief Minister
- Related committee meeting
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology summoned Google, Meta, X and Snapchat for an August 3 meeting on social-media regulation
- Meta issue
- The committee rejected Meta’s explanation that the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Facebook post about NEET was a technical error
Quotes
Debashis De
Trinamool Congress leader arrested in Siliguri over the alleged social media posts
“If people are arrested in this manner, where will the freedom of speech of ordinary citizens remain?”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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