Ghaziabad Police filed FIR against Twitter

On Tuesday, Ghaziabad Police have filed an FIR against Twitter and 9 entities when a video went viral in which an elderly man was thrashed and his beard was chopped off.

The Police said in the FIR, "There is no communal angle to the incident in Loni where a man was thrashed and his beard was chopped off. The following entities - The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Mohammad Zubair, Dr Shama Mohammed, Saba Naqvi, Maskoor Usmani, Salman Nizami - without checking the fact, started giving communal colour to the incident on Twitter and suddenly they started spreading messages to disrupt the peace and bring differences between the religious communities."

Police further added that Twitter has done nothing to prevent the video from getting viral, and named "Twitter, Twitter Communications India Pvt, The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Mohammad Zubair, Dr Shama Mohamed, Saba Naqvi, Maskoor Usmani, Salman Nizami" as accused in the FIR.

Police have invoked IPC sections 153 (provocation for rioting), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295A (acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 505 (mischief), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) against them.

The FIR filed against Twitter, the journalists and Congress leaders, alleges: “The tweets by the accused had been broadcast on a large scale. The statements made through social media by the accused hint at a criminal conspiracy. The accused and other people tried to create animosity between Hindus and Muslims. The tweets were an attempt to destroy communal harmony. These false tweets had been retweeted by thousands of people. The accused include journalists and political persons who did not make an attempt to establish the truth in the case and spread false news.”

“It is expected that the accused, who hold a position of influence in society, will try and establish the truth and use their discretion while putting out information. They have a duty towards society. In this case, the tweets were not verified which gave a communal angle of the incident despite being untrue,” alleges the FIR.