Three youths were arrested and a minor boy detained for allegedly waving the Palestinian flag during an Eid-e-Milad procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat, police said on Tuesday. A senior police officer said initial investigation revealed that these people were influenced by social media reels and Instagram videos that allegedly glorified the Palestinian flag.
Balaghat Police Superintendent Nagendra Singh told reporters, “Some youths waved Palestinian flags during a procession on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-un Nabi on Monday. Police took immediate action and identified some persons on the basis of the video.” He said the arrests were made under Section 197 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (BNS).
Singh said the arrested persons have been identified as Shakib Khan (25), Tauhib Beg (20) and Sohail (18) and a minor boy has been detained. He said all of them are residents of Raja Nagar area. Police are investigating the source of the Palestine flag and also whether there is any planned conspiracy or involvement of any organization in this.
The police officer said, ‘These people were inspired by the video of some people waving and glorifying the Palestine flag on Instagram. They misled a woman (tailor) and got the flag prepared by her.’ Similarly, in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, the police have arrested five youths for waving the Palestine flag. The relatives of the accused say that they have committed this mistake unknowingly. Their children are honest.