JOIN USAfter a request from the government, Twitter on Wednesday suspended a handle purportedly that of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen which claimed responsibility for the Sunday Bodh Gaya blasts even as investigators doubted its authenticity.
The tweet claiming responsibility for the blasts surfaced soon after the explosions in Bodh Gaya in which two monks were injured. The case has been transferred to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Investigators hope they will be able to ascertain the location from where the tweet was posted with help from Twitter.
The suspension of the handle came after the account holder made changes to his account by removing people in his list of followers, including LeT leader Hafiz Sayeed.
On removing the handles, Twitter said in its website that it has the right to suspend or terminate any handle for a variety of reasons. “Accounts under investigations may be removed…,” it said.
The micro-blogging site had earlier suspended fake twitter handles made in the name of Prime Minister’s Office. Union Minister Milind Deora’s account was mistakenly suspended by Twitter instead of a fake account in his name. Investigations are on to ascertain if the IP address of the twitter handle @IndianMujahidin, in which it was purportedly claimed that Indian Mujahideen) orchestrated the blasts, originated from Pakistan.
Investigators are also checking if the tweet was genuine so that they can be sure of the location from where the messages were posted. It is possible to post a tweet using a proxy IP address. NIA officials are now sifting through call record details from Bodh Gaya.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said NIA is looking into all possible angles in the probe, including the purported IM claim.
The tweet had created some interest in the security establishment despite the belief that the handle was not genuine. The handle generated its first tweet barely 16 hours before the blast. Indian Mujahideen used to email their statements to media houses earlier.
An official said they were not taking the issue lightly and are ascertaining the authenticity of the tweet.