Indian ‘atheist’ held for criticising Islam on social media

Tarak Biswas, 32, was arrested after he re-posted a critique of Islam on Facebook

A self-proclaimed atheist youth was arrested in Indian city of Kolkata for ‘hurting religious feelings’ after he re-posted a critique of Islam on Facebook.

Tarak Biswas, 32, reportedly routinely criticised several religions on the social media, evoking strong reactions and sparking debate. The youth, however, was held after he re-posted the material relating to Islam from another website.

Police arrested Biswas on September 16 under various clauses of the Information Technology, saying he had hurt the religious feelings and offended people with various messages online.



"Not only has he [Biswas] written offensive comments, he has also tagged and posted materials from a dubious website,” said the complainant Wasim Akthar's lawyer Mohammad Arif.

“I will bring all this before the court as the posts could trigger communal trouble ahead of Dugra Puja [Hindu festival] and Muharram," he added.

Biswas’ family, however, disagreed with these views, "Tarak is an atheist. He has his own belief. He has routinely criticised all religions. Why should a post on Islam – which was mostly a repost and not original – be considered so offensive," elder brother Moloy Biswas told NDTV.



Moloy went on to say that police apprehended his brother in a haste as he claimed that Biswas did not even have a lawyer when he was presented in the court the next day of his arrest.

Meanwhile, Association for Protection of Democratic Rights said that it was preparing to argue in the court to get the youth bailed, "We don't support what he said, but we will definitely defend his right to say it."

Biswas is set to appear in the court on next hearing of the case on September 29.

The article originally appeared on NDTV