FIR against Facebook for not discontinuing objectionable page

An FIR was today registered against owners of social networking website Facebook for not removing an online community page created by some persons who have been using it to "glorify" cow slaughter.

IPS officer Amitabh Thakur and his wife and social activist Nutan Thakur lodged the case in Gomti Nagar police station of the city, police said.

The US-based company was booked under Sections 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 290 (public nuisance), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of IPC and section 66 A IT Act (sending offensive or false messages), they said.

The Facebook Inc is criminally liable because it has not taken the due precautions to prohibit such pages from becoming active on its website despite "repeated warnings", Nutan said.

She alleged members of the online community have been using "abusive and hateful" language against both Hindus and Muslims, and are demeaning religious figures of both the communities.

Continuation of such a page on a widely popular website can provoke religious passions and thus, it is a potential threat to social harmony and law and order, she said.

Nutan claimed she and Amitabh had registered four FIRs of similar nature, but no action was taken by the administrators of the website, leading to recurrence of such cases.