Haryana: Haryana riots: 1st FIRs against hate posts; 2k clips under lens | India News – Times of India

GURGAON: Three FIRs were filed on Thursday in Nuh for incendiary posts on social media that fanned communal tension in the buildup to the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, which was targeted by a mob in Nuh earlier this week on Monday, setting off a spate of communal attacks in south Haryana since.

These are the first cases against posts spreading hatred that have circulated both before and after the communal violence in Nuh.

The accused identified by police in two of the FIRs areShahid and Aadil Khan Mannaka alias Birjubhai while the third has been filed against a Facebook page called “Shayar Guru Ghantal”.
Special Investigation Teams set up by the state government have started scanning around 2,000 videos that are being widely circulated on social media. Meanwhile, the Haryana government constituted a four-member committee to examine social media content that had spread communal tension leading to the clash in Nuh and monitor posts that continue to be made. Officials said the committee would be headed by a special secretary-level officer.

All the social media posts on which FIRs were registered on Thursday were made on July 31, the day of the clash when incendiary online posts had peaked as members of two communities issued open threats and dares. At the centre of the charged exchanges was the speculated presence of Monu Manesar, the Haryana cow vigilante leader and Bajrang Dal member.
The FIRs mention five posts by Shahid, one by Aadil and two from “Shayar Guru Ghantal”. A widely circulated video of a political activist issuing threats before the yatra has, however, found no mention yet in the FIRs, nor has the perpetrator been booked.
“We need to identify more miscreants. So, we are scanning social media videos and clips from CCTV cameras,” Nuh SP Varun Singla told TOI.

Three days after the Nuh clash and subsequent mob violence in south Haryana, the number of FIRs registered by Haryana Police rose to 93 on Thursday. At least 176 were arrested and 78 taken into preventive detention. The 93 FIRs were filed in five districts, including 46 in Nuh, 23 in Gurgaon and 18 in Palwal.
The FIRs against the social media posts were filed under IPC sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 298 (uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 504 (insulting someone with an ulterior motive to provoke them to disrupt public peace), 109 (abetment) and 292 (obscene act).

Aadil allegedly posted obscene songs along with other communal posts which, according to the FIR, incited violence. Information about ‘Shayar Gur Ghantal’s posts and who runs the account was not available.
Assistant sub-inspector Suresh Kumar, the complainant in the case against Shahid, wrote in the FIR, “I monitor all types of social media posts on the internet. During social media surveillance, I came across a profile by the name of Shahid, who hid his identity on social media.” The posts, he added, were “provocative and could cause enmity between two communities”.

The four-member committee formed by the Haryana government to scan hate posts will coordinate with other investigating agencies to keep tabs on specific social media accounts. The committee will prevent provocative videos from being circulated, and watch out for hate speeches, comments and photos, officials said.