KOLKATA, Feb 12: The editor and publisher of a prominent Indian daily were briefly arrested and then released on bail after being charged with hurting Islamic sentiments in an article, police said on Thursday.

Ravindra Kumar, editor of the Statesman, and publisher Anand Sinha have been charged with “deliberate act with malicious intent to outrage religious feelings”.

“They were produced in a city court and later granted interim bail,” Jawed Shamim, a senior Kolkata police official, said.

The Statesman is one of India’s oldest English-language newspapers, founded in Kolkata in 1875.

The Statesman republished an article on Feb 5 titled “Why should I respect oppressive religions” originally written by columnist Johann Hari in the British newspaper, the Independent.

The article argues that the right to be free to criticise religion has been curtailed by a coalition of Islamic conservatives that has set back equal rights for women, gays and non-Muslims.

The article says the United Nations has been complicit in this move against free speech.

The article triggered protests by Islamic groups before the Statesman House, a heritage building in eastern city of Kolkata.

The editor was arrested after a formal complaint was lodged by a Muslim resident of Kolkata. India is a predominately Hindu nation, but around 13 per cent of the population is Muslim.

“The essential ingredient of the law under which we are charged is malicious intent,” Ravindra Kumar said.

“But how could we anticipate the protest when the article generated no controversy in Britain, which has substantial Muslim population, after it was carried originally by the Independent?” he said.—Reuters