Pak groups behind morphed images, says Home Secretary

August 18, 2012 11:34 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 11:13 pm IST - NEW DELHI

Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh on Saturday blamed Pakistan-based elements for uploading inflammatory and objectionable content on the Internet that painted an exaggerated picture of the recent violence in Assam.

Mr. Singh told journalists here that Ministry of Home Affairs officials have identified over 100 websites on which false and morphed images were posted from Pakistan to incite people in India and create communal tension.

“Our two teams deployed for this specific job have so far identified over 100 such websites on which inflammatory messages were uploaded from Pakistan…contents include old images from Myanmar and other places that are being used to provoke people. While 76 websites have already been blocked, 34 more would be blocked very soon,” he said.

Mr. Singh, however, had no information on the source of the SMSs which spread the false rumour that northeastern migrants had been attacked and killed by Muslims in Bangalore and which led to panic among northeasterners in Karnataka and elsewhere.

Stating that the MHA officials would take up the matter of the websites with the Ministry

of External Affairs, Mr. Singh also said: “We believe it is highly reprehensible …it needs to be made known to everybody that [the morphing and uploading] is something that is being done from Pakistan. The bulk of it has been done from Pakistan…our teams are certain of the findings and we will take up [the] issue with Pakistan. ”

The morphed images were used to mobilise Muslim protesters in Mumbai and were first exposed as a fabrication by civil society groups like Citizens for Justice and Peace.

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