INDIA
Phone user booked for photo, message threatening communal harmony.
Taking strong measures against elements attempting to fan communal tension, police on Saturday registered first-of-its-kind case in the city against unidentified person for circulating through a mobile phone application, gory photographs of cow carcass found in Dwarkapuri area.
The photographs were circulated through popular WhatsApp application running on android platform, used by large number of people to send messages.
"This for the first time that we have registered cases against the perpetrator using mobile phones applications to fan communal passions under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act,” SP West (II) Vinay Prakash Paul told dna.
The photograph was received by SDM Vijay Agrawal, who passed on the information to the police station in Chandan Nagar, the area that witnessed communal frenzy after cow carcasses were found in a nullah last month.
The photograph was accompanied by a message indicating 'another cow was killed in Dwarkapuri area of Chandan Nagar', Paul said.
The case was registered against unknown person on the complaint of head constable Padam Singh, Paul said.
The police was in the process of tracing the origin of the photograph. "Whoever clicked the photograph and circulated it to the public will be charged with the crime," the SP said adding people involved in the circulation chain will also be held accountable.
The case was registered under Section 153 A and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
Paul said another case was registered against unidentified persons for dumping the carcass. "Senior police officers have devised a strategy to combat such situations. We will be implementing it soon," he said.