artist arrested

"The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu religious organisations have always been grumbling about the government's 'minority appeasement tactics' and 'special' privileges showered upon the minority vote bank across the country.

But a student artist in Baroda seems to have bridged the gap between VHP leaders and their Christian counterparts with his work, though not in a positive manner.

Chandra Mohan, a final year Master of Visual Arts student at The Maharaja Sayajirao University was arrested by Sayajiganj police from the university campus on Wednesday. He has been accused of hurting the religious sentiments of Christians and Hindus in the district.

The local Hindu and Christian religious brigades have rated his paintings of Shiv Linga, Goddess Durga and Jesus Christ as highly vulgar and objectionable. He has been booked under Section 153 (A) for promoting religious enmity and hurting religious sentiments with nefarious intentions like creating riots.

The college authorities stuck to their version and have promised to extend fullest support to their student.

rediff.com has received a copy of the petition signed by the students of MS University addressed to the commissioner, asking him to lodge a counter FIR against Niraj Jain for disrupting university examination procedure, trespassing MSU premises, public nuisance, physically manhandling Chandra Mohan, provoking the mob and attempting to destroy university property."

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/10art.htm