MUMBAI: Palghar girl Shaheen Dhada has reactivated the Facebook account she disabled last month following a row over her comment on the region-wide shutdown in the wake of Bal Thackeray's death. The doughty youngster announced her return on the site with a new photo—her face no longer draped in a dupatta—and the words "I am back..!!".
Keeping the promise to restore normalcy in her life, the 21-year-old has reactivated her cellphone number and is readying her two-wheeler to travel through the lanes and bylanes of Palghar. For nearly a month, even these simple freedoms had eluded her.
Shaheen uploaded the photograph on Facebook at around 8am on Saturday. The picture was marked by the absence of the dupatta that veiled her face frequently since her arrest on November 19. "I am back and dying to roam around Palghar's streets. Now I want to move around without any fear," she told TOI.
Her return to Facebook on Saturday elicited several comments.
Within minutes, three friends welcomed her back. One friend, Ankit Upadhyaya, commented, "Back with a bang...Gr8". To this, Shaheen replied: "Yaaah." To others' greetings, Shaheen responded with thank-yous. Within hours of the account's reactivation, six people sent her friend requests. All of them she accepted.
A self-confessed Facebook addict, Shaheen expressed delight at reconnecting with the world after a month. Though she loves commenting on city news, she told TOI that she will be more careful now about what she posts on her account. On Sunday, she did not use the account.
Shaheen and her friend Rinu Srinivasan were arrested on November 19 by police on the complaint of the local Shiv Sena unit after Shaheen lamented on Facebook the region-wide shutdown on the day of Thackeray's cremation and Rinu 'liked' the comment. Police hastily applied the stringent IPC section of 295 (a) against them for hurting religious sentiments, but later changed it to IPC section 505 (2).
The nationwide outrage over the arrests forced police and the state to backtrack. Transfer orders were given to two senior policemen and a Palghar court magistrate too was moved out. Not soon after, as the Supreme Court questioned the legality of the arrests, the state director general of police and the government decided to drop the charges against Shaheen and Rinu.
The continuing support for Shaheen is evidenced by the two-dozen Facebook profiles in her name, like 'Shaheen Dhada Official' and 'Support Shaheen Dhada'. Called to share their experiences with students and faculty, Shaheen and Rinu will travel to Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, on December 21-22.
But for now, Shaheen is waiting for the closure report in her case and for the police security outside her house to be lifted. "It feels like ages since I left home."
Shaheen back on Facebook, wants to ‘move around without fear’
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Shaheen back on Facebook, wants to ‘move around without fear’
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Shaheen back on Facebook, wants to ‘move around without fear’
