Facebook row: Police to close case against two Palghar women - NDTV

Palghar: Charges slapped against two young Palghar women, who were arrested for a Facebook post on Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's funeral, will be dropped, Maharashtra police sources said today.

The sources said the police will not file a chargesheet in the case and instead go for a closure report.

The decision brings a huge relief for the two women and their families in Palghar.

The women were arrested on November 19 after a Shiv Sena leader in Palghar near Mumbai filed a police complaint over the Facebook post. A clinic run by the uncle of one of the women was vandalised by Shiv Sena activists.

A national outrage prompted an inquiry and forced the suspension of two police officers, Ravindra Sengaonkar and Shreekant Pingle. They were indicted for having applied wrong charges on the women, including the controversial section 66A of the Information Technology Act.

The women's parents had said they would be relieved only when the charges against them were dropped.