Journalist Abhijit Iyer-Mitra gets bail, Twitter trends #IStandWithAbhijit

The Odisha Police on September 20 arrested defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra from New Delhi, Scroll.in reported. Mitra was detained for making supposedly derogatory remarks about the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha. While Mitra has been granted bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh, the entire controversy is as ridiculous as they come.

According to Iyer-Mitra’s counsel, he was taken to the Nizamuddin police station. News agency ANI stated, “He has been told that a case has been registered against him in Odisha. He hasn’t been told what the case is or who has registered it. He hasn’t been given a copy of the FIR.”

What’s more, a privilege motion was also moved against Iyer-Mitra in the Odisha Assembly. The motion demands action against Iyer-Mitra for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, ANI reported. Earlier today, the speaker of the Assembly also approved a proposal to form a House committee led by the leader of the opposition, Narasingha Mishra, to investigate the matter.

The controversy is over a September 16 tweet in which Iyer-Mitra shared a video on Twitter from the temple premises.

In a subsequent tweet, Iyer-Mitra stated: “Jokes aside this temple is just mindblowing. The sculptures are exquisite & it has a great sense of symmetry & gravitas.”

However, two days later, Biju Janata Dal MLAs staged a dharna in the premises of Odisha Assembly to protest against Mitra, among others.

Following the news of Iyer-Mitra’s detention, several journalists and authors came forward expressing their support.