A 30-year-old Chitpore trader was questioned on Saturday for allegedly posting crass and objectionable remarks on the Twitter handle of a Mumbai woman who had expressed her grief on the death of the migrant labourers on the railway tracks in Aurangabad.

The man, in his 30s, who had been using a Twitter handle called @pokersash, is said to have defended his words. An officer quoted him as saying he “could not imagine how the Indian railway minister could be blamed for some migrant labourers who died because they fell asleep on the tracks”.

The tweet, made on May 8, was deleted soon after it caught the attention of several thousands of social media users and attracted criticism for the “sexist remarks” it contained.

@pokersash used to be followed by some top BJP leaders. But the Twitter handle has been deactivated following outrage over his latest remarks.

Police sources said his phone, which was apparently used to write the post, has been seized as part of the investigation.

The police said this was not the first time this account had been suspended by Twitter for posting objectionable comments. “He is a repeat offender. But not many people lodge a complaint,” an officer said.

A case has been started against the man under IPC sections related to sexual harassment, stalking, public mischief, criminal intimidation and the Information Technology Act.