Police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested two women, identified as Mehak and Pari, over alleged obscene and abusive content on their Instagram accounts. Detailing the two influencers' alleged crimes, the police in Sambhal cited “social norms, decency, and morality” to stress that freedom of expression “is not absolute”.
Besides Mehak and Pari (alias Nisha), two of their team members, Hina and Jarrar Alam, are also named in the case lodged after a complaint was filed on Monday, multiple reports said. They were arrested late on Monday night.
Also read | Punjab influencer strangled to death, reveals autopsy
An online search by Mehak and Pari's names on Instagram shows several accounts with thousands of followers such as ‘@mehakpari143’ which has nearly half a million (4.8 lakh) followers. There were mirror handles, too, amplifying their videos in which they speak on sex-related subjects and use everyday profanities.
Police said some of their handles had been taken down by the platform as per legal orders, while some were still visible at the time of filing of this report on Wednesday (July 16) evening.
{{/usCountry}}Police said some of their handles had been taken down by the platform as per legal orders, while some were still visible at the time of filing of this report on Wednesday (July 16) evening.
{{/usCountry}}The issue of “obscene” content and moral policing had made headlines recently when an Insta influencer, Kanchan Kumari, who used the handle @kamalkaurbhabhi, was murdered in Punjab's Bathinda.
Villagers complained, say police
In Mehak and Pari's case, police said the two women and their team were earning “approximately ₹25,000 to 30,000 per month from their Instagram content”.
Also read | Delhi ‘influencer’ attacked by rival over social media post
"Tempted by this income, they resorted to using vulgar language and obscene visuals to attract viewers and gain cheap popularity," a police official was quoted as saying.
Sambhal superintendent of police Krishan Bishnoi gave details to the media, that Mehak, Pari and Hina, residents of Shahbazpur village of Asmoli police station area in Sambhal , were uploading “reels containing obscene language, abuses and gestures”.
“Through these videos, they were crossing all limits of obscenity. There was a lot of anger among the local people and villagers due to their actions. After a complaint by the villagers, action was taken,” the officer said.
“All those who spread obscenity to gain cheap popularity on Instagram are requested not to do such things. The police will not hesitate to take strict legal action against such people,” he added.