'Distorted News': Tripura Police Asks Twitter To Block Multiple Accounts

The West Tripura Police have asked Twitter to block and identify 68 accounts that have posted "distorted news".

Representative Image. 

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

The police in Tripura have written to Twitter, asking the microblogging platform to suspend at least 68 accounts, which the state government accuses of "posting distorted and objectionable news items" in the wave of the communal flares in parts of the north-eastern state, reported NDTV.

According news agency ANI, Tripura Police have registered cases against 102 Twitter accounts under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for "spreading fake & distorted information related to the recent violence that took place at Panisagar".

It is not clear if the letter to Twitter includes 68 profiles or 102.

"In publishing these news items / posts, the persons / organizations have been found using photographs / videos of some other incidents, fabricated statements / commentary for promoting enmity between religious groups / communities in presence of a criminal conspiracy. The posts have potential to flare up communal tension in Tripura State between people different religious Communities, which may result into communal riots."

Tripura Police's letter to Twitter

The letter addressed to Twitter's grievance officer in California, United States, includes the links to 68 profiles and asks for "blocking them" along with "providing information about the admin/user of the Twitter pages."

The Tripura police has also booked four Supreme Court lawyers under UAPA, who had expressed discontent over incidents of violence and vandalism against Muslim-owned houses and shops.

The four Supreme Court lawyers belong to different organisations, including Lawyers for Democracy, National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO) and the PUCL.

As a part of an independent fact-finding team, they – who visited the state – alleged that certain Hindu organisations were behind the violence that had broken out in the state.

Muslims residing in Bangladesh-bordering Tripura allege they were attacked following communal clashes in Bangladesh, where violence during Durga Puja led to seven deaths.

According to PRO of Tripura Police, Jyotishman Das Choudhary, the case which was earlier investigated by police is now transferred to the Crime Branch division of Tripura Police. "The police have been trying to trace the handlers of the accounts," he said.

A detailed report on the communal unrest has been sought by the Tripura High Court.

(With inputs from NDTV, The Indian Express and The Economic Times.)