Hisar journalist booked for promoting enmity, cyber terrorism over FB post

The Hisar police have booked an independent journalist, who runs a web portal, on charges of promoting enmity between different groups, assertions prejudicial to national integration and cyber terrorism for one of his social media posts

The Hisar police have booked an independent journalist, who runs a web portal, on charges of promoting enmity between different groups, assertions prejudicial to national integration and cyber terrorism for one of his social media posts.

An FIR was registered against the journalist under Sections 153A and 153B of the IPC and Section 66F of the Information and Technology Act over one of his posts on the social media. (AFP)

The FIR was registered against journalist Rajesh Kundu, on complaint filed by Hisar Police PRO Vikash Lohachab, under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the IPC and Section 66F (charges of cyber terrorism) of the Information and Technology Act over one of his posts on the social media.

“In many WhatsApp groups and on Facebook, Kundu mentioned with the hashtag ‘alert’ that ‘be prepared to face caste violence in a week in Hisar’ and this will be a ‘blueprint for experiment’ in state and then in the country,” the complaint added.

Kundu, who had worked as a media consultant to Haryana jails and power minister Ranjit Chautala, runs a web portal ‘The Ink’ and has remained active during the farm agitation.

Opposition leaders, including Congress’ Kumari Selja, Deepender Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kiran Chaudhary, and INLD’s Abhay Chautala, and journalist associations have condemned registration of the criminal case against Kundu and demanded its immediate withdrawal.

The Opposition leaders said that the journalist had been booked as he was covering the farmers’ agitation and was lending voice to the protesting farmers through his social media handles.

Over registration of FIR, Kundu said that he was alerting people about a possible conspiracy to create rift on caste lines and said police have booked him as he was raising farmers’ issues.