3 FIR’s filed, 9 persons held over inciteful social media posts

When people started to reach out to the police, they realised the panic and assured people that no such incident had happened. Once the police determined it was the video that created the panic, they tracked down the two persons who had made the video and shared it.

The duo, identified as Irfan Shaikh and Vijay Sandge, both residents of Trombay, were arrested by the police after an FIR was registered against them. The police questioned them to find out why they spread the video.

In a second case that took place in Nehru Nagar area of Kurla (east), a social media status uploaded by a local led to a group of men reaching his brother’s shop and assaulting him.

An officer said they have registered an FIR against a local who put up a social media post that was communal. It was based on this post that people reached his brother’s shop in Nehru Nagar on Wednesday night and threatened him over the status his brother uploaded.

“The accused roughed him up and damaged some of the articles in his shop. He then called up the police control room following which we reached the shop within minutes,” an officer said. The police registered an FIR against the accused in this case as well.

“While in the first case, the person who uploaded the post was arrested, in the second case, the six persons who went to the shop were also placed under arrest. All were produced before the court and remanded to police custody till January 28,” the officer said.

Zonal DCP Hemraj Rajput said, “We appeal to citizens to not upload communal posts on social media platforms and alert us in case they come across any such posts. If anyone is found uploading such content, the police will take strict action against them.”