London: A 68-year-old Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by a UK court over a video he posted on social media found to be offensive to certain communities.
Amrik Bajwa from Slough in Berkshire, south-east England, was sentenced and fined GBP 240 last week after pleading guilty to one count of sending by public communication network an offensive/indecent/obscene/menacing message or matter.
“Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, a man has been sentenced for sending an offensive message using social media,” the police said in a statement on Tuesday.
The post related to a video he posted on TikTok on July 19 last year reportedly targeted the Dalit community.
“I am pleased with the sentence given, which provides a clear message that Thames Valley Police will not tolerate behaviour like that of Amrik Bajwa,” said Sergeant Andrew Grant, the investigating officer on the case from the Slough police station.
“As a force, we are committed to protecting our communities and ensuring that criminal actions which have the potential to undermine community cohesion are dealt with robustly,” he said.
Bajwa was arrested a few days after his post, on July 22 last year, and charged via postal requisition on March 2 this year.
The Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA), a voluntary human rights organisation campaigning against caste-based discrimination in the UK, was among the organisations to complain about the offensive “casteist” post which it characterised as hate speech targeted at Dalit communities.
“The 18 weeks sentence in jail reflects the severity of the harm Amrik Bajwa's video caused the Dalit community,” said a spokesperson for the ACDA.
“We understand the conviction did not specifically refer to ‘caste' because caste is not yet a protected characteristic in law. But the Crime Prosecution Service (CPS) shared at the hearing the derogatory words ‘choora' and ‘chaamar' that Mr Bajwa used. The video that Amrik Singh Bajwa posted on TikTok in 2022 was highly toxic and casteist in content,” the spokesperson said.
The ACDA said the conviction was the result of several community organisations working together. The Thames Valley Police thanked all the key witnesses who helped with the force's investigation into the case.
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