New Delhi: Journalist Saba Naqvi, who is among the people the Delhi Police named in a case of spreading hate online, today expressed shock over the inclusion of her name and alleged that she has been "selectively targeted".
"I am committed to the secular and liberal ethos of India and stand against any fundamentalism, hate speech and injustice," she said, adding that she is currently abroad and will comply with due process on her return in mid-July.
In a statement, Ms Naqvi also said: "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".
The FIR, filed following the huge Prophet controversy, also includes the names of Naveen Kumar Jindal, the expelled head of Delhi BJP's media unit, whose tweets – also on the Prophet -- contributed to the furore.
Others named are Shadab Chauhan, the chief spokesperson of Peace Party, Hindu Mahasabha office bearer Pooja Shakun Pandey, Maulana Mufti Nadeem from Rajasthan, Abdur Rehman, Anil Kumar Meena and Gulzar Ansari, the police said.
Those named in the FIR have been accused of spreading messages of hate, inciting various groups and creating situations detrimental for the maintenance of public tranquillity.
A second FIR was also registered under similar sections against
suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma – whose comments on Prophet Muhammad drew an international backlash -- and other social media users, police said.