A man from Karnataka’s Kodagu district has been arrested for posting offensive and derogatory messages about goddess Cauvery on social media. The police have said that the man, identified as Divin Devaiah, created a social media account in the name of a Muslim youth and wrote derogatory messages against the Goddess Cauvery.
On July 3, a message disparaging Goddess Cauvery and Kodava girls was posted online by an unidentified user. Following the social media posts, the Kodava community planned a protest to demand strict punishment for the accused. The police launched an investigation into the posts, saying that they hampered the communal harmony of the district, endangering the peace and order, police said.
After thorough investigation, Kodagu police found that the posts were uploaded by a Hindu youth. The arrested man has been identified as Divin Devaiah, a native of Kedamulluru in Virajpet taluk in Kodagu district. The police have said that through his fake account, he wrote disparaging and offensive remarks against the goddess Cauvery and even targeted Kodava women.
Kodagu police said that that Mumbai police helped in tracing the origins of the social media account that made the contentious posts. Reports say that the police in Mumbai reached out to Facebook’s parent company Meta — as it is believed that the posts were made either on Facebook and Instagram — and forwarded it to the local police. Superintendent of Police Kodagu district, MA Aiyappa told IANS that misuse of social media has become widespread due to a lack of understanding of its repercussions.
As per reports, Divin has been booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), and 505 (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquillity) of the Indian Penal Code.
After Divin’s arrest, the Kodava community has decided against staging the protests.