Richa Bharti, 20, charged with posting content targeting Muslims on WhatsApp and Facebook, and granted bail by magistrate Manish Singh on Monday on the condition that she donates five copies of the Quran to government schools and colleges, expressed her unhappiness at the requirement even as several people took to social media to criticise Singh. Apart from having the donate the books, Bharti was also asked to furnish two bonds of ₹7,000 each. The court issued a release order after her representatives furnished them. She was released from Birsa Munda Central jail on Monday.
”It’s a court order and I can’t disobey it. I am yet to receive the order sheet. But, I am hurt by such command as I am bound by my personal religion, which doesn’t permit to donate the Quran. I will act according to my lawyer’s advice,” she said.
Bharti, a final-year under-graduate student at Ranchi Women’s College, added, “I have not posted any objectionable comments on Facebook.”
The matter relates to a complaint lodged by one Mansur Khalifa with the Pithoria police station on July 12, alleging that Bharti was instrumental in uploading objectionable posts. Bharti was arrested and sent to jail on July 12. She was booked under Section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and Section 295 (A) (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code.