Bengaluru, Mar 30: Postcard News founder Mahesh Hegde was arrested by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch on Thursday on charges of spreading fake news. Police Commissioner Suneel Kumar said the arrest was made based upon a complaint filed against one of the stories on his website, which maliciously claimed that a jain monk was attacked by Muslim youths.

The FIR against Hegde was filed by Gaffar Baig, the General Secretary of Congress' Bengaluru District Committee, on March 18.

Based upon the prima facie evidence, the police booked Hegde under IPC sections 153a (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot), 34 (common intention) and 120b (for criminal conspiracy), and section 66 (dishonest act) of the Information Technology Act.

The fake story on Jain monk's assault was posted by Postcard News on March 18. It was also shared by Hegde on his personal social media handles. The story claimed that a Jain monk, who was enroute to Shravanabelagola for the Mahamastakabhisheka, was attacked by a group of Muslims.

The police, however, claim that an investigation found the Jain monk to be injured in a road accident, rather than being assaulted. The monk was hit by a drunk bike rider while he was walking towards Shravanabelagola. The locals had then rushed him for first-aid treatment.

Here is the screenshot of the fake news shared by Postcard News on social media:

"Upon learning that the Jain Muni was hurt, Postcard News published a story alleging that the Jain Muni was attacked by Muslim youth. This was published on social media. Many people have read this story. This was intended to tarnish the reputation of the government and also disrupt communal harmony,” states the FIR.

A second complaint was also registered against Hegde by Kavan Basavakumar at the Sanjay Nagar police station. The complainant has alleged insult to cultural sentiments as the Postcard News had allegedly made offensive remarks about Kittur Rani Chennamma and Onake Obava, two historical figures from Karnataka.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 30, 2018 09:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).