Bengaluru IPS officer trolled over cracker ban debate

IPS officer D Roopa was trolled and abused on Twitter on Wednesday three days after an argument over ban on firecrackers led to the suspension of a pro-Hindutva handle from the platform.

A section of social media users has been arguing against the ban or restriction on firecrackers with many dubbing it as government “interference” in Hinduism.

However, discussion took a turn when True Indology, an anonymous handle known for making disputed claims over India’s history, engaged Roopa over the claim that firecrackers were not essentially part of Hinduism but more of a social practice.

When the civilised debate led to heavy trolling, the anonymous account was suspended on Wednesday morning, hours after Roopa slammed the abusive words and lies and said: “Ur time’s up”.

It was not clear whether the officer complained about the handle. However, many supporters of ‘True Indology’ saw it as abuse of power.

To a question, Roopa told DH that she would not like to comment on the issue. She, however, sought to note that trolling was not an offence as per law.

Actor Kangana Ranaut joined the force and by late evening, the abuse got louder and personal with nearly 1 lakh people trolling the officer and demanding reinstatment of True Indology.

Mysore MP Pratap Simha came to the defence of the officer. “Guyz, u can fiercely argue with @D_Roopa_IPS (and) u can disagree with her, but she is not your foe. In fact, she is a staunch nationalist. Cool down pls, things vl get better,” he tweeted.

Many questioned the line of defence by citing the ‘nationalism’ of the officer.