Karwar, May 3: An admin of a WhatsApp group was arrested and released on Tuesday after a person shared morphed images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the group.

The arrested has been identified as Sannatamma Naik (30), an autorickshaw driver. Interestingly he is a BJP worker. He was arrested on Monday and booked under Information Technology Act, 2000.
A government order issued last year says the group administrator of a social media group is held liable for prosecution if rumours, fake news or misleading information is circulated on it.
A police officer said Krishna Sannatamma Naik had created a group called ‘D Balse Boys’ on the social media platform and included friends from Boddabalse village, near Murudeshwar in Bhatkal taluk of Uttara Kannada district.
A member of the group, Ganesh Naik, who is frustrated with Modi’s false promises, recently uploaded morphed images of the PM, and this was liked by another member, Balakrishna Naik.
Anand Naik of Murudeshwar, from the BJP, lodged a complaint against Ganesh and Balakrishna. Police arrested Ganesh, who got bail later. Balakrishna has since gone underground.Later, police arrested Krsihna Naik, holding him liable for the content since he's the group administrator.
A police source from Bhatkal said when BJP members held a protest outside the police station seeking strict action against the alleged culprits, they didn't realize that the group was managed by one of their own.
Murudeshwar police officer Bheem Singh Lamani confirmed the incident. The objectionable photos of Modi have since been deleted. Rajesh Naik, president of Bhatak unit of BJP and an advocate, said the administrator was unaware of the members' activities.



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