Man held for misleading video linking death claim to IMT Manesar protest case

The accused shared old videos from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab on April 10, falsely linking them to the protest; he admitted intent to incite unrest, police said.

The cybercrime cell of Gurugram police has arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly circulating a misleading video on social media and falsely linking it to the ongoing workers’ protest at IMT Manesar, officials said on Saturday.

Cyber police flagged the video during routine monitoring; the accused from Ballia was arrested and will be produced in court as probe expands to identify others. (File photo)

The accused, a resident of Sahia Bazaar village in the Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Friday by a Cyber Police Station team (Manesar) after routine monitoring flagged a video carrying a false and inflammatory claim.

According to investigators, the video was shared on Facebookon April 10 with the claim that a woman had been beaten with a stick during the IMT Manesar protests, leading to her death. A preliminary probe, however, found the video was old and unrelated to the ongoing labour unrest.

Police said two such old videos from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab were deliberately circulated to mislead the public, trigger panic and potentially disturb law and order. “The content was falsely linked to the Manesar protest despite having no connection to it. Such actions can create fear among residents and escalate tensions on the ground,” Gurugram police spokesperson Sandeep Turan said.

An FIR was registered under BNS sections 197(1) (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 353(1) (statements, false information, rumours, or reports that can cause public mischief) and section 67 (transmission of obscene material) of the IT Act. During questioning, the accused allegedly admitted to sharing the video to incite unrest, police said.

Police said he will be produced before a district court and that efforts are on to identify others involved. The arrest comes amid heightened vigilance as IMT Manesar protests continue, with 55 people earlier arrested for violence.