Bangalore, June 8 (IANS) Hundreds of techies working in the information technology sector here Sunday condemned the killing of an IT professional in Pune over the alleged uploading of objectionable pictures on a social network.
"We are shocked by the inhuman attack on 28-year-old Shaik Mohsin Sadiq by suspected elements of a Hindu outfit, which threatens the social and secular fabric of our country," Haynes Davis, spokesman of an IT employees' forum, said in a statement.
Over 50 techies held a candle-light protest to express sympathy with the family of the deceased man.
"As eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, the government should step in to nab the culprits and give justice to Sadiq's bereaved family," Davis said.
Asserting that such fanatics were hell bent upon disturbing the communal harmony between majority and minority communities, the forum sought stringent measures to prevent recurrence of hate crime anywhere in the country.
The IT and ITeS Employees Centre (ITEC) is a non-profitable forum for thousands of techies working in the multi-billion dollar industry to collectively address issues and challenges faced by their peers and the industry.
At least 17 people were arrested in connection with Sadiq's death June 2 in Pune. They were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Among those arrested included members of the Hindu Rashtra Sena, a right-wing organisation, who were enraged over the alleged uploading of derogatory pictures of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji and late former Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on a social network.