A case has been registered against a senior Facebook India executive and two others by the Chhattisgarh Police.
The Chhattisgarh Police filed an FIR against Ankhi Das, Facebook’s Director, Public Policy, India, South and Central Asia, and two users of the social media platform for allegedly hurting religious sentiments, police said on Tuesday.
Police said the case was lodged late Monday night following a complaint by Raipur-based journalist Awesh Tiwari.
Along with Facebook’s Ankhi Das, other two who have been booked were identified as Ram Sahu from Mungeli of Chhattisgarh and Vivek Sinha of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, news agency PTI reported.
The three have been booked under 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 offence against any other class or community), 506 (criminal intimidation), 500 (defamation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Raipur journalist was named in case filed by Facebook’s Ankhi Das
Tiwari reportedly lodged the case after he was named in a complaint by Ankhi Das to Delhi Police, alleging that she had been receiving threats to her life through online posts.
The Raipur-based journalist, in his complaint, said on August 16, he put up a post on his Facebook account related to an article published in the Wall Street Journal.
Tiwari in his 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.”
Tiwari also said he had been receiving threat messages and calls on WhatsApp after his post.
He alleged that Das, Sahu and Sinha were trying to defame him by spreading religious hatred due to which his life is under threat and he is living in constant fear.
(With PTI inputs)
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