The police in Singur town of West Bengal arrested a 28-year-old man on Tuesday night for posting an alleged derogatory comment about Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media, PTI reported on Wednesday. Chandan Bhattacharya was apprehended on the basis of a complaint by Trinamool Youth Congress District President Shantanu Banerjee, the police said.

“We arrested Chandan Bhattacharya after a complaint was filed against him with Singur police station,” Superintendent of Police Tathagata Basu said. “A probe has been initiated in the case.” Bhattacharya had posted the allegedly derogatory comment on Facebook on the day of Kali Puja, the complainant said.

“Chandan Bhattacharya had posted the comment on October 28,” Shantanu Banerjee said. “Party workers could not trace his residence that day. However, the next day, they found out that he lives in Singur. Following this, I lodged a police complaint against him.”

This is not the first time someone has been arrested for posts critical of Mamata Banerjee or the Trinamool Congress. On October 18, state Congress spokesperson Sanmoy Banerjee was arrested in connection with a cyber crime complaint filed in Purulia, India Today reported. Sanmoy is known for criticising the chief minister and her nephew, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on matters of corruption.

In May, Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha leader Priyanka Sharma was arrested in Howrah district for posting a morphed image of Mamata Banerjee. The Supreme Court granted her bail and asked her to apologise to the chief minister. On July 1, it issued a show cause notice to the West Bengal government for the delay in releasing Sharma.

Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.