U.P. Police book Twitter, journalists over Ghaziabad case; Yogi Adityanath slams Rahul Gandhi

U.P. CM reacts after police rule out communal angle in assault of elderly Muslim man.

June 16, 2021 10:38 am | Updated June 17, 2021 01:12 am IST - LUCKNOW

Abdul Samad Saifi, who was allegedly beaten up in Ghaziabad recently. Photo: Special Arrangement

Abdul Samad Saifi, who was allegedly beaten up in Ghaziabad recently. Photo: Special Arrangement

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of spreading “poison in society” with his tweets after the police ruled out a communal angle in the assault of an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad.

The police registered an FIR against social media site Twitter, The Wire journalists Saba Naqvi and Rana Ayyub and fact-checker Mohammad Zubair, among others, for allegedly sharing on Twitter a video of the incident and giving it a communal colour without verifying the details.

The FIR was lodged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The FIR accuses the journalists and political activists of trying to spread discord between Hindus and Muslims and disruption of public peace.

Tweeting a news link of the incident, in which it was reported that the man was beaten up allegedly for not chanting Jai Shri Ram and had his beard cut, Mr. Gandhi said he did not believe that true followers of Lord Ram could do such a thing.

Rahul Gandhi spreading poison in society

“Such cruelty is far from humanity and is shameful for both society and religion,” he said on Twitter.

Mr. Adityanath responded to the tweet by saying that Mr. Gandhi should feel ashamed for trying to “spread poison in society” despite the facts of the case having been unravelled by the police.

The CM accused Mr. Gandhi of bringing to shame humanity for the greed of power. “Stop insulting and defaming the people of Uttar Pradesh,” he tweeted.

State Cabinet Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said the Opposition, especially the SP, was trying to give a communal colour to the incident in a bid to grab power in U.P. in 2022.

“BJP government will not allow U.P. to once again become a bastion of communal forces, which was seen during the rule of SP,” he said.

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