FIR against Twitter: UP CM Adityanath says will deal strictly with spreaders of fake news

After losing legal protection following non-compliance with the new IT rules, social media giant Twitter was booked by the Ghaziabad police in Uttar Pradesh for ''inciting communal enmity''.

It is the first case of its kind against Twitter in India, in which the social media giant can face charges for third party content. Nine persons have been booked in the matter, along with Twitter officials. The others include Saba Naqvi and the news website The Wire.

A sub-inspector at Loni police station lodged the FIR, according to sources. Twitter and others were booked under IPC Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and others.

The case pertained to the alleged assault and cutting off the beard of a Muslim man, identified as Abdul Samad Saifi of Loni area in Ghaziabad district, and forcing him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' on June 5. Saifi had lodged a complaint with the police that he had been assaulted by unidentified people.

The police claimed that it was found that Saifi, with an acquaintance, had visited the house of one Parvesh Gujjar in the Loni area on June 5. They also said that Saifi used to make 'taviz' (a kind of thread with alleged magical properties) and that he was assaulted by Gujjar and others as the 'taviz' given by Saifi did not have the desired effect.

The police said there was a deliberate attempt to give it a communal colour. ''Twitter did not remove the news even when it was proved that it was fake,'' a police official said.

He said a local politician had incited Saifi to give false statements to the police. ''The video was made viral nine days after the incident... Saifi admitted that he was not forced to chant religious slogans... some mediapersons were also involved in it,'' the official added.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath vrtully defended the action against the Twitter and said that the state government would sternly deal with any one found to be spreading fake news or fake videos. ''We will not accept any attempt to vitiate the communal atmosphere,'' Adityanath said on Wednesday.