Woman gets 15 days in jail for raising anti-BJP slogans

TUTICORIN: A 22-year-old woman was arrested and remanded in 15 days’ judicial custody on charges of raising slogans against the BJP while travelling on a flight from Chennai to Tuticorin in which BJP state president, Tamilisai Soundararajan was also travelling. The incident took place on Monday.
The agitated BJP leader also picked an argument with the woman at the Tuticorin airport, before lodging a complaint with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the airline concerned.
Superintendent of Police (SP), of Tuticorin district, Murali Rambha said that a case was registered against Sofia of Third Mile in Tuticorin city, under Sections 290 and 505(i)(b) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act.
The SP said that Pudukkottai police registered the case only after obtaining a legal opinion. She was then produced before the judicial magistrate-III in the Thoothukudi court, S Tamilselvi, late on Monday evening. On her directions, the woman was remanded for 15 days in the special prison for women in Tirunelveli. However, the woman could not be taken to prison and had to be hospitalised as she complained of stomach pain.
It is learnt that Sofia is a research scholar in Canada and had come to Tuticorin for a holiday.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Tamilisai said that she was taking her bag out when the woman shouted anti-BJP slogans. “I did not refute or reason with her in the aircraft as it is inappropriate. At the airport she was still frowning at me when I spoke to her,” Tamilisai said.
She claimed that the woman refused to apologise for behaving in such a manner. “The woman claimed that she has freedom of expression. This is not acceptable in an aircraft. She has no right to behave like that before other passengers and I strongly suspect that she is backed by extremist organizations,” Tamilisai said.
“Her body language and words she used make me suspect the backing of such organizations. Such behaviour poses a threat to me and other passengers,” the BJP leader said and urged the Tamil Nadu government to deal with such organizations with an iron hand. “Leaders with extremely different ideologies travel together and at times even share the next seat,” she added.
Meanwhile, her father lodged a complaint against the BJP leader and a few other party persons accompanying her. The SP added that police are investigating both complaints.