58 booked over provocative social media posts after Gonda trader’s murder

The rapid spread of social media posts supporting different sides of the controversy has added a new dimension to the murder investigation, with police particularly concerned about caste-based mobilisation.

Nine cases have been registered against 58 people in Gonda over allegedly provocative and objectionable social media posts following the murder of trader Vinod Kumar Sahni. This prompted police to launch round-the-clock monitoring of online platforms amid fears that the digital campaign could aggravate caste tensions and turn into a law-and-order challenge.

For representation only

“The cases have been registered at the Gonda cyber police station and the Tarabganj, Colonelganj, Parasrampur, Itiathok, Wazirganj, Motiganj and Nawabganj police stations. Most concern social media posts related to Sahni’s murder and the controversy surrounding it,” confirmed a senior police official privy to the development.

In a separate case in Nawabganj, police named eight people, including Vikas Nishad, and booked 50 unidentified persons for allegedly taking out a candle march without permission and raising objectionable slogans in connection with the killing.

Sahni, 45, was attacked by 8–10 men on September 9 while returning home after closing his utensils shop. He later died during treatment at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow.

The rapid spread of social media posts supporting different sides of the controversy has added a new dimension to the murder investigation, with police particularly concerned about caste-based mobilisation. Sahni belonged to the Nishad community, while police said the arrested suspects in the murder case belong to an upper-caste community.

Among those named in the nine cases are Satyendra Kumar, Ramkishun Kohli, Krishna Kumar Nishad, Ashok Kumar Nishad, Jitendra alias Neelu, Kajal Singh, Prashant Kumar and Swaminath Verma.

ASP (West) Radheshyam Rai said police were monitoring attempts to create caste-based hostility through social media. “Whenever such information comes to our notice, cases are being registered at the concerned police stations and legal action initiated,” he said.

He said Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is currently in force in Gonda, police said. He also warned people against inflammatory posts and gatherings organised without prior permission.

The developments in Gonda have drawn parallels with the aftermath of the August 26 murder of Haryanvi singer and YouTuber Ankit Baliyan in Shamli, where social media posts quickly became part of the controversy surrounding the killing. Baliyan was shot dead outside a gym by four assailants who arrived on two motorcycles. Two suspected shooters, Mohit and Sumit, were subsequently killed in an encounter in Shamli on August 31.

Soon after the murder, an Instagram account purportedly linked to the Gogi gang claimed responsibility for the killing. The Shamli case also highlighted how social media can generate competing narratives around a murder, including purported gang claims, allegations about the motive and posts aimed at particular individuals or groups. Police subsequently intensified monitoring of online platforms after further material claiming links with the gang surfaced.

The developments in the two districts point to an emerging policing challenge: containing the digital fallout of a serious crime before it translates into physical mobilisation. For investigators, the challenge is increasingly two-pronged: establishing the facts of the crime while preventing unverified claims, provocative posts and online mobilisation from reshaping the law-and-order situation on the ground.