FIR Filed Against A Facebook Executive For Allegedly Hurting Religious Sentiments

A day after Ankhi Das, a senior Facebook India executive, filed a complaint with Delhi Police’s Cyber Cell unit alleging death threats, a case has now been filed against her by the Chhattisgarh Police on a complaint by a local journalist. An FIR has been filed in Raipur against a senior Facebook executive and two users of the social media platform for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, said police. The case was lodged at Kabir Nagar police station late Monday night based on the complaint of AweshTiwari, a Raipur-based journalist of a news channel, Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Yadav told.

Along with Facebook’s Ankhi Das, other two who have been booked were identified as Ram Sahu from Mungeli of Chhattisgarh and VivekSinha of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. An investigation is underway and further action will be taken accordingly, the official said. The three have been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 295(a) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 505(1)(c) (with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit an offence against any other class or community), 506 (criminal intimidation), 500 (defamation) and 34 (common intention), he said.

The FIR was registered after Tiwari was named in a complaint registered by Delhi Police’s cyber cell on the basis of a charge levelled against him by Das. In her complaint, Das alleged receiving death threats and social media abuse after a report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggested that Facebook was biased towards the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) in censoring hate speech.

Tiwari in his police complaint said, “Two Facebook users, with names Sahu and Sinha, jumped in to defend Das and commented on his (Tiwari’s) post that she (Das) is a Hindu and she is talking in the interest of the faith. Sahu allegedly posted derogatory and communally sensitive photographs and also threatened him.”

The issue has triggered a major political storm, and a war of words between the BJP and the oppositions Congress, which has demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe. The Parliamentary panel on IT, headed by Congress MP ShashiTharoor, is likely to seek an explanation from Facebook in this regard. The alleged bias of Facebook against hate speeches by the BJP has raised questions on the impartiality of the social media giant. Several Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have targeted Facebook for furthering BJP’s propaganda.