Shaheen Dadha, the 21-year-old girl who was arrested for questioning the shutdown in the city after Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death, said on Tuesday that her Facebook account has been hacked and a fake account has been created on her name.
Thane rural police on Sunday arrested Dadha for questioning the shutdown in the city on her social networking site Facebook account after Thackeray's death on Saturday, and the subsequent shutdown on Sunday for his funeral and cremation.
She posted this message on Facebook, which was ‘liked’ and shared by her friend Renu, who was also arrested. Both girls were released on bail on Monday.
"After all that happened with me and my friend, I tried to deactivate my Facebook account Monday night, but realised that it has already been hacked," Shaheen said.
"Somebody from California, US, has hacked my account and a fake account has been created on my name. I have registered a police complaint in this regard, mentioning that I will not be responsible for whatsoever is posted through the fake account," added an over-cautious Shaheen.
The message posted by Shaheen read: "With all respect, every day, thousands of people die, but still the world moves on. Just due to one politician died a natural death, everyone just goes bonkers. They should know, we are resilient by force, not by choice. When was the last time, did anyone showed some respect or even a two-minute silence for Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Azad, Sukhdev or any of the people because of whom we are free-living Indians? Respect is earned, given, and definitely not forced. Today, Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not due to respect."
Speaking to IANS, Shaheen said she did not deserve to be treated like this. "I have apologised because I want peace and harmony. But this has been a nightmare. The treatment meted out to us was unfair," she said.
She agreed when asked if the matter was blown out of proportion. "I know the entire episode happened because of my Facebook post, but that was just my opinion, my thought. It surely was different from others' thoughts. And hurting someone was not my intent. I apologise," she said.
Facebook is also sporting anti-Shaheen pages, one of which is titled "Don't Support Shaheen Dadha". The page vehemently appeals to everyone that Shaheen should not be supported and that what she did was wrong.
"Such a big ruckus over my Facebook post should not have been created. This is unfair and uncalled for. I am not angry, but I surely aghast," she said.
Shaheen said that she does not know what the future entails, but for now she has sworn off all networking websites and would not register for one in the near future.