Delhi peace panel to seek Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp's help to spot offenders behind inflammatory posts

The Delhi Legislative Assembly Committee for Peace and Harmony said on Thursday that it will ask WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to help it identify some "offenders" who have shared inflammatory posts on social media.

The panel, set up to foil spread of rumours and hate speeches in the wake of the violence in northeast Delhi last month, recorded statements of 14 complainants and of a person accused of spreading inflammatory content on social media.

"The committee questioned and recorded the statements of 14 complainants, who had drawn its attention towards inflammatory content, including videos and messages," its chairman Raghav Chadha said.

"It had also summoned a person accused of sharing the inflammatory content through WhatsApp. The man confessed to his crime which is punishable by imprisonment up to three years," he said.

The person claimed that he was not aware of the law and apologised to the panel.

"He has promised to remove the inciting posts, post a public apology on his social media accounts and make people aware of the law," Chadha said.

"We will also ask representatives of WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to join the investigation to establish the identity of some offenders who shared inflammatory posts on social media," he said.

Communal violence in northeast Delhi on February 24-25 left at least 53 people dead and more than 200 injured.