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Hathras gangrape: Facebook user booked for spreading rumours via ‘morphed’ content
Police officials said the FIR was registered in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station after agencies investigating the Hathras incident said that some organisations and people were involved in a conspiracy to incite the sentiments of a particular caste
Police on Saturday night registered a first information report (FIR) against a Facebook user for spreading rumours by allegedly using morphed screenshots of a TV news channel in connection with the alleged gang-rape and subsequent death of a Dalit teenager (19) last week in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Hathras district.
The circulation of such material was an effort to disturb law and order and disrupt communal and social harmony in UP, the police said.
Police officials said the FIR was registered in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station after getting inputs from agencies investigating the Hathras incident that some organisations and people were involved in a conspiracy to incite the sentiments of a particular caste and hatred towards another caste. They said the attempt was made to malign the image of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath through fake posts and content.
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Somen Barma, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central, Lucknow Police, said the FIR was lodged against Facebook user Munna Yadav, whose account was used to spread rumours and fake information about the Hathras incident.
He said the FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint by sub-inspector (S-I) Bhupendra Pratap Singh.
Anil Kumar Singh, the additional station house officer (SHO) of Hazratganj police station, is investigating the case, Barma said.
The DCP said the charges filed in the FIR pertain to sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different castes), 153-B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 420 (fraud), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery with purpose of cheating), 469 (forging electronic content) and 500 (defaming a person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Sections 505(1)(a) (causing mischief with intent to cause fear among the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against the public tranquillity) and 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the IPC were also included in the FIR, Barma said.
The charges under section 66 of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 and section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 for using morphed screenshots of a TV news channel were also slapped against accused Yadav, he added.
