An FIR charging Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists, including TV anchor Rajdeep Sardesai, with sedition, among other offences, was registered at Noida.
The FIR was filed at Sector 20 police station in Noida on the complaint of a local resident, who alleged that the accused persons had deliberately spread misinformation about the violence during the tractor rally of the farmers in Delhi on the Republic Day in protest against the farm laws.
Those, whose names found mention in the FIR, included Mrinal Pande, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath besides Tharoor and Rajdeep.
According to the sources, all of them have been booked under sections 124 A (sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground 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 120 B (criminal conspiracy) others.
They have also been charged under the IT Act.
The complainant said that these persons had deliberately spread false information about the violence during the tractor rally and tried to incite the protesters.
He said in his complaint that as a result of the misinformation the protesters reached the Red Fort and hoisted the flag of a religion.
He also alleged that the accused persons harboured ill-feeling against the democratically elected government and acted in revenge.
A police official here said that the matter was being investigated.
Opposition parties and journalists' organisations have slammed the UP government for filing the FIR.
One farmer was killed and several others including cops injured in the violence during the tractor rally.
Delhi police has already filled FIRs against many farmer leaders in this connection.
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