P. Ganesh Prasad (41) of Manjeshwar is wanted by Kankanadi Town police in Mangaluru for a communal hate comment on a Facebook page. His arrest followed a provocative comment he made against kids participating in a Qur’anic recitation competition. Under the new legal landscape, even online comments are subject to serious consequences under India’s proposed laws.
In January 2026, a video of a Qira`at (Qur'an recitation) competition at the Indian Convention Centre in Mangaluru was uploaded on the Facebook page of a local daily newspaper. As Ganesh Prasad's profile said through his own personal Facebook account then said children were being “brainwashed” and would soon be sent to plant bombs in the country.
The comment was flagged as highly provocative and communal." Just moments later, the complaint was filed at the Kankanadi Town police station and a case was registered under Crime No. 15/2026".
The police enforced Section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with acts that disturb public order and incite communal disharmony, and Section 66 of the IT Act, which covers an inappropriate use of digital platforms for objectionable content.
The police arrested Ganesh Prasad on March 27, 2026 after investigations. He was taken into custody, the authorities stated that more proceedings would follow.
This case, for example, illustrates just how much that social media misuse can cause. Those comments that cause communal discord or spread false narratives are charged as crimes. If nothing else, the arrest demonstrates how the new legal systems in place in India can also be applied in an online context, according to the BNS.
As of 2026, Mangaluru Police are aggressively monitoring social media for hate speech and provocative messages. Similar arrests have been made more than recently by police to further criminalise the diffusion of such content on digital platforms and so we expect this trend to heighten tension between peoples” communities in the city.
Ganesh Prasad is the first on-line person behind whom we are reminded again that online platforms are not beyond the reach of law. But the charges of speaking rude and speaking against the community can result if you are arrested. As a first example of this, Mangaluru has said that citizens should be sensitive using social media services and stop spreading hatred to other citizens.
