Mangaluru: Police have arrested a 35-year-old man from Bhatkal for allegedly posting a bomb threat targeting a mosque in Ullal through a social media comment that later went viral.
The accused has been identified as Shankar Mastappa Moger, a resident of Devinagar in Bhatkal.
According to police, the threat was posted from an Instagram account under the name ‘shankar11916’ as a comment on a post carrying the photograph of Suhas Shetty, a Hindu organisation worker who was recently killed in Bajpe. The comment read, “Support maadi bro, Ullal masjid hatra bomb blast madthini” (Support me, brother, I will carry out a bomb blast near Ullal mosque).
The post was detected by Santosh Doddamani, a staff member on social media monitoring duty at Ullal Police Station, who subsequently lodged a complaint. Based on the complaint, Ullal police registered a suo motu case against the accused on charges related to promoting enmity between communities, inciting violence and issuing criminal intimidation.
Police Commissioner Sudhir Kumar Reddy said strict action would be taken against those attempting to disturb communal harmony through provocative social media posts. He added that the accused had been traced and taken into custody.
Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader also directed the police to initiate firm action against the individual responsible for the threat. He stated that people of all faiths have been living in harmony in Ullal and urged the police to remain vigilant against attempts to disrupt communal peace through inflammatory online content.
The accused has been arrested and produced before a court. The mobile phone allegedly used to post the comment has been seized. Further investigation is underway.