Kozhikode, Aug 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) Prominent makeup artist Jaanmoni Das was arrested by the Kozhikode City Cyber Police on Thursday in connection with alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother Heeraben in the context of a protest held at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.
She was later released on station bail as the offences invoked in the case are bailable.
The case was registered on a complaint by the Kerala BJP Mahila Morcha President Navya Haridas.
According to the FIR, Jaanmoni allegedly made defamatory and insulting remarks against the Prime Minister with the intention of creating unrest in society and disrupting public peace.
The arrest triggered a controversy, with Jaanmoni saying that her remarks had been misunderstood.
As the issue escalated, she posted a video on Instagram apologising for the controversy and explaining her side of the matter.
Jaanmoni said she had made the remarks while responding to queries from the media after watching content related to the Delhi protest.
She attributed the controversy partly to her limited proficiency in Malayalam, saying that what she intended to convey had been wrongly interpreted.
"I did not say it with the intention of hurting anyone," she said in the video, adding that she had not been speaking about the Prime Minister's mother.
She said she realised the seriousness of the controversy only after friends contacted her and told her that the video had become a major issue.
She claimed that she subsequently asked those who had posted the video to delete it.
Jaanmoni also said she had received numerous threatening calls and messages after the video surfaced, including calls from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and different parts of India.
"I don't know what I should do. I have received many threatening calls," she said, while adding that she had only asked a question in connection with the content she had seen and was not making a statement against PM Modi.
Her explanation, however, has failed to satisfy the state BJP Mahila Morcha unit.
The organisation has rejected her apology, saying that the remarks allegedly made against the Prime Minister and his mother cannot be dismissed as a "mere language-related misunderstanding".
The police, meanwhile, are proceeding with the investigation into the allegations.
The FIR specifically states that the alleged remarks were made with an intention to insult the Prime Minister and create unrest and disturb peace in society.
With the arrest and subsequent release of the makeup artist, the controversy has now acquired a political dimension, with the State BJP Mahila Morcha unit demanding action and Jaanmoni insisting that her comments were neither intended to hurt anyone nor directed against the Prime Minister or his mother.
Source: IANS
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