Prayagraj, 12 July: A team of Colonelganj police arrested five people, including the owner of a printing press and an event organiser, on suspicion of installing a hoarding with the slogan ?Bye Bye Modi” near the Reserve police lines on Beli road in Prayagraj on the orders of a Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supporter, who has been identified as Sai.
Abhay Kumar Singh (owner of a printing press) of Kydganj, Aniket Kesari (event organiser) of Civil Lines, Rajesh Kesarwani (contractor) of South Malaka, and Shiv and Nanka alias Dharmendra (labourers), both of Kydganj, were among those detained.
“After scanning CCTV footages, the police have managed to arrest five persons who had allegedly installed the controversial hoarding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the city at the beheest of a supporter of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) who had funded them from Secunderabad, Telangana ,” said Deputy SP (Colonelganj) Ajeet Singh Chauhan.
“A group of unidentified individuals put the contentious poster in the city on the intervening night of July 8 and 9 on Beli Road,” he said, “after which a FIR was lodged under sections 153(B) and 505(2) of the IPC.” “We are also seeking for TRS supporter named Sai, a Secundrabad resident, who reportedly gave these individuals a contract to install the disputed hoarding on Prime Minister,” he added.
The DSP further alleged that identical contentious posters were put in Secundrabad, Telangana, on July 7, and that a video of the installation went viral on social media. According to investigations, TRS supporter Sai contacted the event organizer to request a list of good places where the hoarding might be put. After the event organizer emailed him the city’s finest spots, a TRS fan asked him to place hoardings on Beli Road and even paid Rs 10,000.
On Saturday morning, the controversial hoarding with the caption “#Bye Bye Modi” was found near the Reserve police lines gate on Beli Road in the city, causing an outcry and prompting local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials to approach the police.
