NOIDA: Ahead of the
Ayodhya verdict, the cyber cell unit of Noida police late Wednesday evening asked
social media users and admins of WhatsApp groups to refrain from writing or sharing “objectionable” messages that could cause communal hatred or disturbance to law and order, warning that they could be arrested without a warrant for such posts, apart from being booked for
cybercrime.
In an eight-point advisory, it asked people not to forward posts that pertain to the “political or current situation” or “any person holding a constitutional or administrative post or any such message likely to hurt religion/cult/religious sentiments”.
UP police have been on high alert ahead of the Ayodhya verdict and cops have been asked to closely monitor social media platforms in a bid to maintain law and order. In the present scenario, the advisory said, writing such messages is a crime and “arrests can be made without warrants”.
“WhatsApp group admins should take action immediately after receiving such objectionable posts and such misleading messages should not be encouraged,” the advisory said, adding that the URL links of such messages on Facebook,
Twitter and other platforms should be saved and concerned department informed.
Gautam Budh Nagar SSP Vaibhav Krishna told TOI they will specifically target platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook where such posts have been shared. “It has been seen that some users like the posts on Facebook etc and forward them. Action will be taken against not just administrators of WhatsApp groups, but also its members as many times, people don’t inform authorities… We will also call members of the groups in case lack of information on their part is reported,” he said.
Sub-inspector Baljeet Singh of the cybercrime unit said there had been several cases where objectionable messages had been shared but the original writer had not been caught. “Apart from preventive detention under CrPC 151, there are many sections of the IT Act and IPC where people can be booked and arrests can be made,” he said.
Singh urged people to exercise restraint. “People should be educated about what can follow in case they forward such posts or simply witness a message being forwarded.”
BJYM leader bookedThe advisory comes a day after a district president of
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the BJP’s youth wing, was booked by Dadri police for a controversial social media post about a religious book. On October 20, a tweet from @annupanditbjp, the official Twitter handle of Annu Pandit went viral and many WhatsApp users shared it too. The tweet was later deleted. Pandit claimed his account had been hacked but police said he would have to prove this. An FIR was lodged under IPC Section 295 (a) (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 66 of the IT Act.