A representative image showing a police report.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mangaluru: A case has been registered at Puttur Rural Police Station for allegedly creating fake documents and spreading them on social media in an attempt to protect accused persons involved in a cattle transport case.
A case was booked under Sections 132, 109, 303(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 4, 5, 6, and 12 of the Karnataka Prevention and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020.
Police said that documents claiming to be purchase receipts for cattle being transported in a seized vehicle had been widely circulated on social media. Upon verification, the Secretary of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Channarayapatna confirmed that the cattle market is held only on Fridays. The purported receipts (Nos 27653 and 27654) were found to have been fabricated and altered before being circulated online.
Further inquiry with the RTO and veterinary officials revealed that no permission had been granted to transport cattle in the said vehicle.
Despite knowing the documents were fake, the administrators of the “State office SDPI Karnataka” account on X (formerly Twitter), along with the owner/editor of Thejasnews.com, one Sadath Bajathur, and several other social media users, are accused of intentionally spreading false information to protect the accused involved in illegal cattle transport. The police said their posts provoked public outrage and created a situation that could lead to unlawful assembly or violence.
In this regard, another case has been registered at Puttur Rural Police Station under Sections 233, 240, 338, 353(1)(b), 192, 61(2)(b), 238(c), read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Dakshina Kannada District Police have warned that strict legal action will be taken against those spreading false or provocative content on social media in the future. Users have been urged to act responsibly while using social media platforms.