Kalyan cops to crack down on senders of offensive WhatsApp messages

Kalyan zone police said they will take action against people who send defamatory or abusive messages or videos through WhatsApp, the popular messaging service. The announcement comes after a 10-day-old video of a teenage couple being beaten up by a crowd at Ulhasnagar skywalk went viral on WhatsApp and other social networks.

Moreover, two weeks ago, a police case was registered against three media persons at Bazarpeth police station for abusing each other on WhatsApp.

Another video that is making the rounds is about a man and woman having sex in a civic office.

"Such actions (spreading such content) are punishable under the appropriate sections of the Information Technology (IT) act," says Sanjay Jadhav, DCP, Kalyan zone. "No matter how old the video or images are, they are an act of defamation. We are trying to find out the source of origin and take appropriate action," he said.

Local activists have welcomed the police's move. Raj Asrondkar, founder of Kaydyaane Vaaga movement in Ulhasnagar said, "In the Ulhasnagar skywalk incident, the girl who was beaten up for behaving indecently was also subjected to misbehavior by the crowd. Beating a woman up amounts to misbehaving with her," he said. "Nobody is entitled to shoot such videos and then circulate them. It is punishable under section 66A of the IT act for defaming a person," he added.

Asrondkar said that he verifies the authenticity of such defamatory content, rephrases the information and spreads awareness about it. "I am asking people not to indulge in such acts or encourage them by sharing such messages," he said.