An FIR has been registered against the Google CEO Sundar Pichai and 17 others in Varanasi for a demeaning video on YouTube against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Bhelupur SHO Amit Mishra said that the FIR has been registered by one Girija Shanker at the Police Station on the court order against 18 accused, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai, under Section 60 of the IT Act and 500, 504, 506 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
A resident of Gauriganj in Varanasi, Girija Shanker stated in the FIR that he had received a video on his Whatsapp in which a man named Vishal Singh alias Vishal Ghazipur and his wife Sapna Bodh were were singing a song using unparliamentary and foul language to demean Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
When he contacted Vishal Singh Ghazipuri objected to the posting of the video, the latter filed a complaint against him at Ghazipur Police Station and posted another video disclosing his name and number accusing Girija Shanker of issuing threats for a video against the PM, he said.
After posting another video by Vishal, Girija Shanker received as many as 8500 threatening calls on his mobile. Girija Shaker claimed that he had written to Google and YouTube to withdraw the videos but the company officials did not take any note of his request.
Startled by life-threatening calls, Girija Shanker moved an application in the local court under Section 156 seeking court’s intervention for registering a case against Vishal and Google office-bearers.
The court directed the petitioner to file a case against the accused. It was after the court's intervention, the FIR was registered against Google CEO Sundar Pichai at Bhelupur Police Station in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Those who have been named in the FIR included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, India Supervisor Sanjay Kumar Gupta, India Director, Kenneth Hoi Wai, Vishal Ghazipuri, Spna Bodh, Chandan Kumar, C.S. Badal, Sujit Gautam, Hriday Raj Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Suraj Krishna, Ashish Nayak, B.K. Singh, Pankaj, S.N. Budh, VC Music Company and Jai Bhim Recording Studio.
The SHO Amit Mishra said that any action against the accused named in the FIR will be taken after investigation. “WE have registered an FIR against 18 persons and will soon initiate action after investigation,” said Mishra.
A war is already on in the country over content in Social Media, particularly Twitter. On Thursday, Twitter was forced to suspend over 500 accounts spreading misinformation and posting provocative content on farmers’ agitation after the Modi government issued a warning.