Journalist Saba Naqvi Has Been Named In Delhi Police's FIR Over "hate" On Social Media. (File)
The Delhi Police said on Wednesday that it has registered a case against some people who are allegedly spreading messages of hate, inciting various groups and creating situations which is detrimental for the maintenance of public tranquillity.
Among those named in the police case or FIR, registered by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operation (IFSO) unit of the Special Cell, are Naveen Kumar Jindal, the expelled head of Delhi BJP's media unit, Shadab Chauhan, the chief spokesperson of Peace Party, journalist Saba Naqvi, Hindu Mahasabha office bearer Pooja Shakun Pandey, Maulana Mufti Nadeem from Rajasthan, Abdur Rehman, Anil Kumar Meena and Gulzar Ansari, the police said.
A second FIR was also registered under similar sections against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and other social media users, police said.
"The FIR is against several individuals cutting across religions," Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra said.
"The unit will investigate the roles of various social media entities in promoting false and wrong information with an intention to create unrest on the cyber space and that have ramifications on the physical space thereby compromising with the social fabric of the country," Mr Malhotra said.
Saba Naqvi, in a statement, said, "I am shocked to learn that my name has been included in an FIR registered by Delhi Police under various sections of the IPC. I am a journalist and tasked with speaking truth to power. Social media and news sites suggest the FIR has been filed because of a whatsapp forward that I shared only to delete it a few hours later. Many others also shared the same image yet I have been selectively targeted in the FIR."
"I am committed to the secular and liberal ethos of India and stand against any fundamentalism, hate speech and injustice. I am currently out of India and will comply with due process on my return in mid-July," she added.