A man has been arrested for allegedly being the administrator of a number of WhatsApp groups that broadcast purported community messages and sexually explicit content, particularly related to bypolls in the state, police said.

The Kolkata Police Cyber ​​Wing arrested Param Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Nanoor in Birbhum, for allegedly leading several WhatsApp groups, following a complaint from a resident of South Kolkata.

In addition to the complaint from Surak Mondal, a resident of Kalighat, multiple complaints were filed against the groups with the Indian Election Commission, police said.

“From the content of the groups, it is clear that these groups were created just before the bypolls with a purpose. It was reported to us that the groups were used to disseminate community and sexually explicit messages, ”an officer told Lalbazar.

“Based on the complaint from the southern Calcutta resident, we identified the group’s administrator and arrested him at his home on Wednesday evening,” the officer said.

The accused was charged under sections of the Information Technology Act and sections dealing with offenses of inciting discord, enmity or feelings of hatred between persons for on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, willful and malicious intent to outrage religious feelings and make statements of public mischief.

If found guilty, Roy Chowdhury can be sentenced to five years in prison.

The arrest was a revelation for many people who are used to posting and forwarding text messages without realizing the implications.

According to senior officers, many of those who were summoned and questioned earlier for posting and disseminating objectionable content – mostly political and community-based – via WhatsApp or through social media platforms, claimed they were not unaware of the legal consequences.

“A lot of people ignore the consequences. Group administrators are responsible for the nature of the content disseminated in the group, ”said the officer.