Bengaluru techie arrested for shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ from Whitefield PG balcony

Shubhanshu Shukla

A 25-year-old software engineer has been arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly shouting pro-Pakistan slogans from the balcony of his paying guest (PG) accommodation on May 9, amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

The man, identified as Shubhanshu Shukla, who hails from Chhattisgarh, works at a private company in southeast Bengaluru. The incident took place around 12.30 am on May 9 in Prashanth Layout, Whitefield. Shukla reportedly stood on his second-floor balcony and shouted ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans while a group of youths was celebrating the Indian military operation, the New Indian Express reported.

According to the police, a resident from a nearby building heard Shukla raising the slogans. The neighbour recorded the video from his terrace, and immediately called the police helpline (112). He also shared the video clip with police officers.

According to the report, Shukla shouted the slogans three times, but the video only captured the last one. He was booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for actions threatening the sovereignty of India (Section 152), statements against national unity (Section 197(1)(d)), and statements causing public unrest (Section 353(1)).

During interrogation, Shukla told the police he shouted the slogans on impulse and did not mean to cause any harm. The authorities have sent the video to a forensic science laboratory for verification and collected Shukla’s voice sample for comparison. Additionally, a blood sample was taken to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident.

Shukla was initially sent to judicial custody on May 9. The police later sought his custody for further investigation and questioning. He has since been sent back to judicial custody.

This is the second such incident in Bengaluru this week. In an earlier case, another 25-year-old man named Nawaz was arrested for a viral video in which he made provocative remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the ongoing India-Pakistan tensions.