With the Opposition in Chhattisgarh slamming the BJP government for “turning Bastar into a police state”, a Dantewada-based journalist was arrested in Jagdalpur on Monday for allegedly posting an “obscene message” about a senior police officer on WhatsApp groups.

The journalist, Prabhat Singh, was produced in a local court on Tuesday, where he alleged that he had been “assaulted by policemen in custody”. He was later remanded in judicial custody until March 31, according to his lawyer.