A dietitian from Highland Hospital in Mangaluru, Karnataka, was booked after allegedly posting anti-religious and anti-national content on the social media platform X, which triggered significant public backlash.
The dietitian, Afifa Fatima, reportedly posted statements such as “help stinky Hindus are behind me” and “am I an Indian - yes, do I hate India - yes,” leading to widespread criticism from the public and social media users.
In response to the controversy, Highland Hospital terminated her employment. Additionally, the hospital’s HR officer, Mohammad Aslam, filed a formal complaint against her at the Pandeshwar Police Station, India Today reported.
The Mangaluru police, based on the complaint registered a First Information Report (FIR) against her under Sections 196(1)(a) and 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), dealing with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community and statements conducing to public mischief.
The incident involving the dietitian surfaced just four days after another case was registered in Mangaluru against a Facebook user named ‘Nichchu Mangaluru’ for allegedly supporting the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
An FIR was lodged by the Konaje Police Station in Mangaluru City, Dakshina Kannada district, based on a complaint filed by a Ullal resident Satish Kumar.
According to police, the Facebook post contained inflammatory and provocative content intended to disrupt public order. The complaint included screenshots of the post and the user’s profile as evidence.