Journalists, Congress leaders booked over posts on Ghaziabad attack; FIR says Twitter 'did nothing' to stop clip from going viral

Journalists, Congress leaders booked over posts on Ghaziabad attack; FIR says Twitter 'did nothing' to stop clip from going viral

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 10:27 AM IST
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Hours after losing its intermediary platform status in India over non-compliance with the Centre's new IT rules, Twitter is facing it's first FIR. The Police in Uttar Pradesh have registered a case against nine well known individuals for giving a communal slant to a now viral story wherein a Muslim man was thrashed and his beard chopped off. The microblogging platform incidentally stands accused of "doing nothing" to stop the video from going viral.

The list includes two Congress leaders as well as journalists and a media organisation. The FIR names The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Mohammad Zubair, Dr Shama Mohammed, Saba Naqvi, Maskoor Usmani, Slaman Nizami as the offenders, contending that they "spread messages to disrupt the peace and bring differences between the religious communities" without checking facts.

A video of an elderly man being attacked in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad had gone viral on Tuesday with many giving a communal slant to the story. The Muslim man was attacked in the Loni area while on his way to offer prayers at a mosque. His assailants also allegedly cut off his beard.

The victim contends that he was targeted because of his religion - a perception that was amplified as reporters, politicians, actors and many others took to Twitter calling for justice. Posts by various verified Twitter handles contended that he had reportedly been forced to shout 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram' even as he was punched and beaten with sticks.

The official account is somewhat different. The Ghaziabad police have ruled out a communal angle to the incident, stating that saying Sufi Abdul Samad was attacked by six men - Hindus and Muslims - who were unhappy about some amulets that he had sold them.

As the story continued to gain momentum, Mohammed Zubair, one of the founders of fact-checking website Alt News had checked himself, deleting his earlier tweets and posting a clarification. Sharing the police update he said that the victim's version of events did not seem to "add up" with other details that he had gathered.

From several other accounts however, there has not been much follow-up on the initial remarks. While the topic continues to trend on Twitter (as of Wednesday morning) the focus appears to have shifted from the victim to now criticising those named in the FIR and beyond.

In a strong tweet, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi expressed his disappointment over the incident and assured that action would be taken against the criminals and their 'masters'.

"A syndicate has again become active to defame India. The syndicate is also trying to tear apart the communal harmony in the country. The incident was an unfortunate criminal incident, but the matter was communalised," he told ANI.

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