Police have arrested hundreds of Indian internet users in recent years
\n New Delhi
\nEight Indians have been arrested for making \u201coffensive\u201d social media posts about the death of the country\u2019s military chief in a helicopter crash, according to officials speaking to AFP on Monday and local reports.
\nGeneral Bipin Rawat, who was killed along with his wife and 11 others in last week\u2019s accident, was a hugely popular figure seen as close to Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
\nBut he also courted controversy, in one instance presenting an award to an officer who tied a civilian in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to the front of his military vehicle in a show of force.
\nOne man was arrested within hours of the chopper crash for posting to Instagram that Rawat had \u201cburnt alive even before entering Jahannum\u201d, the Muslim word for hell.
\nHe was arrested along with two others in Rajasthan state for \u201churting public sentiment\u201d, police confirmed to AFP. Five other arrests across India were reported by local media outlets on the weekend.
\nA bank staffer in IIOJK\u2019s Jammu district was suspended from work after accusations she had reacted to a Facebook news post of Rawat\u2019s death with an emoji of a laughing face.
\nTwo people were being investigated in the southern state of Karnataka, where chief minister Basavaraj Bommai ordered the arrest of \u201cperverted minds\u201d who had disrespected the military commander.
\nPolice have arrested hundreds of Indian internet users in recent years, with rights groups sounding the alarm over growing curbs on freedom of speech in the world\u2019s largest democracy.
\nMore than a dozen people were arrested in October for celebrating Pakistan\u2019s defeat of India in a cricket match, with several still in custody after being charged under sedition and anti-terror laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police have arrested hundreds of Indian internet users in recent years New Delhi Eight Indians have been arrested for making \u201coffensive\u201d social media posts about the death of the country\u2019s military chief in a helicopter crash, according to officials speaking to AFP on Monday and local reports. General Bipin Rawat, who was killed along with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-232750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n