The complaint said it was a malicious effort to define Mamata Banerjee (File) The mother of BJP's youth wing worker who was arrested for sharing a morphed picture of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has alleged that the underlying reason for the action was her association with the BJP. "My daughter was arrested because she worked for the BJP. This is all part of a big plot. This is the first time she is far away from us. Had she been a TMC (Trinamool) worker nothing bad would have happened to her, this is all done by TMC. The fact that she is in jail has increased our worries," Priyanka Sharma's mother was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. The activist, Priyanka Sharma, is accused of sharing on her Facebook timeline a photo in which Mamata Banerjee's face has been photoshopped on the form of actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the MET Gala in New York. She was picked up by the police from her home. She has been sent to two weeks' judicial custody. Her brother said he was not allowed to meet her initially. The police relented after he put pressure. Priyanka Sharma's security was at risk, her brother claimed, as her entry was not recorded even 24 hours after her arrested. He claimed BJP leader Poonam Mahajan called him to Delhi, ANI reported. "I will take the matter to Supreme Court to save my sister", he said. The BJP's youth wing chief in Kolkata, Om Prakash Singh, said the action against Ms Sharma was wrong, not what she did. "Social media is a place where everybody wants the freedom to express. It is shameful that Mamata Banerjee is curbing freedom on that platform. Priyanka just shared an edited photo which was already viral on the platform. There is nothing vulgar or shameful in the photo," he said. A complaint filed at Dasnagar Police station against Priyanka Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, accuses her of "violating community guidelines", an official of Howrah City police's Cyber Cell is quoted as telling news agency IANS. The complaint was reportedly filed by a Trinamool leader, Bibhas Hazra. The arrest has provoked anger and strong protests, not just by the BJP but also by other social media users. The BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma called it an "emergency-like situation" in Bengal. "Appalled at an Emergency-like situation in WB. Freedom of expression is severely curbed. Priyanka Sharma, executive member of @bjym4howrah has been sent to 14-day police custody for posting a Met Gala-themed meme on @MamataOfficial," Mr Sarma tweeted.<doc-sep>New Delhi: Priyanka Sharma, the convenor of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s youth wing in Howrah, was arrested for sharing a morphed image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. In the meme she shared on May 9, Banerjee’s face was superimposed on actor Priyanka Chopra’s body, in the dress she wore to the 2019 Met gala. Sharma has been remanded to 14-day judicial custody, according to the police. After Sharma shared the image on her Facebook page, a Trinamool Congress leader reportedly filed a complaint against her with the West Bengal police cyber cell. “This act broke the community guidelines and it was being viewed as an issue of violence. She not just tries to insult our Hon’ble Chief Minister, but she trying to insult the culture of our Bengal by her post on Facebook and which is Cyber Crime,” the complaint read, according to Deccan Herald. Several BJP workers and others have come out in support of Sharma on social media, saying that the decision to arrest her for sharing a humorous image violated her freedom of expression. Forget humor, any sort of expression is dead in @MamataOfficial‘s Bengal. Priyanka Sharma, our district executive member, @bjym4howrah was arrested for posting a Met Gala-themed meme on Mamata Banerjee ji.#ISupportPriyankaSharma and Mamata Didi must release her immediately. — Chowkidar Poonam Mahajan (@poonam_mahajan) May 11, 2019 All of us liberals must severely criticize the WB police for arresting #PriyankaSharma for a funny but harmless morphed image of CM WB Mamta Banerjee. We can’t be liberals & say there is intolerance in Modi ji’s governance but accept this intolerance . #ISupportPriyankaSharma https://t.co/KG85jjYgxa — Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) May 10, 2019 According to the Indian Express, Sharma has been charged under Section 500 of the IPC (defamation), and Sections 66A (offensive messages) and the non-bailable 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act. “Many people posted the same meme on social media. She was just one of them. Police said she edited it. How is that possible? Our chief minister speaks of democracy and you get arrested and jailed for posing a meme,” Sharma’s brother Rajiv told the newspaper. Senior TMC leader Arup Roy, though, told the Indian Express that it was the “right thing” that Sharma had been arrested. “There was a complaint at the cyber crime department against the post. The police have done the right thing by taking action as it is a criminal offence. The post was in bad taste. The West Bengal chief minister is a woman and any post like this is not acceptable. We condemn such incidents, especially if done during elections.” In April 2012, Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor at Jadavpur University, was arrested and later acquitted for circulating an email with a caricature of Banerjee.<doc-sep>
The woman has been sent to 2 weeks' judicial custody for sharing a morphed photo of Mamata Banerjee. A BJP activist was arrested on Friday in West Bengal for allegedly sharing a morphed photo of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. The activist, Priyanka Sharma, is accused of sharing on her Facebook timeline a photo in which Mamata Banerjee's face has been photoshopped on the form of actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the MET Gala in New York. She was picked up by the police from her home. She has been sent to two weeks' judicial custody. A complaint filed at Dasnagar Police station against Priyanka Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, accuses her of "violating community guidelines", an official of Howrah City police's Cyber Cell is quoted as telling news agency IANS. The complaint was reportedly filed by a Trinamool leader, Bibhas Hazra. "This is a malicious effort to define our beloved CM who is working tirelessly for our state. We have lodged a police complaint and want stern action to be initiated. She has not just insulted our CM, but also the culture of Bengal," Mr Hazra reportedly complained. The charges cited on the complaint include "defamation and offensive messages". Priyanka Chopra chose a vibrant, edgy look with an unusual hairdo in her interpretation of the theme for the annual fundraiser this year was "Camp: Notes on Fashion". The arrest has provoked anger and strong protests, not just by the BJP but also by other social media users. The BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma called it an "emergency-like situation" in Bengal. "Appalled at an Emergency-like situation in WB. Freedom of expression is severely curbed. Priyanka Sharma, executive member of @bjym4howrah has been sent to 14-day police custody for posting a Met Gala-themed meme on @MamataOfficial," Mr Sarma tweeted. BJP workers also protested outside the police station where Priyanka Sharma was taken. The hashtag #ISupportPriyankaSharma also trended on Twitter. In 2012, Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor at Jadavpur University, was arrested for circulating an email with a caricature of Mamata Banerjee.