The Mangaluru police have registered an FIR against admins of a Facebook page called “Mangalore Muslims” for inciting hatred and violence by posting derogatory content about the 26-year-old Bajrang Dal leader Harsha. The Hindu leader was stabbed to death by Muslims on the streets of Karnataka’s Shivamogga on Sunday night.
According to the reports, a suo motu case has been registered in the cyber, economic and narcotics offences police station based on a complaint by head constable Raja M of the social media division. On Wednesday, N Shashi Kumar, Police Commissioner, Mangaluru City, also confirmed that an FIR had also been filed against “Mangalore Muslims” in the case.
Mangalore Muslims page has been accused of repeatedly posting provocative posts against Hindutva outfits and Hindu political leaders to spread hatred between Hindus and Muslims and provoke to indulge in violence. One Mohammed Shafiq has been named in the FIR, who is believed to be the admin of the page. He had shared provocative posts with other social media groups.
The Facebook page had posted content defending Harsha’s murder on Sunday, and referred to him as “street dog.” The page had claimed that Harsha was murdered for allegedly abusing Prophet Mohammed in the year 2015. It had also added that “whoever insults the Prophet will meet the same fate.”
In a post shared on December 31, 2015, Islamist page, “Mangalore Muslims” on Facebook had threatened Harsha with physical harm for his remarks on Prophet Muhammad. The post read, “Harsha, a member of Hindutva terrorist group, has put out objectionable posts targeting Prophet Mohammad and Allah and has shared morphed images of holy Kaaba on social media platforms.”
In its post, the radical Islamic group had said, “Leave a text in Inbox for more information about him, share this image and information,” the page appealed to Islamists. Another Facebook page named ‘Karavvali Muslims’ shared the same message on the same day.
Now, a suo motu case has been registered against the page. The complaint states that the Facebook page called “Mangalore Muslims” uploaded a post referring to Harsha in abusive terms and claimed that Harsha had insulted the Prophet, thereby implying that Harsha was killed for mocking the Prophet.
“The post further implied that anyone who insults the Prophet, such as Ajit Hanamakkanavar, will not be forgotten by ‘Mangalore Muslims’ page. The post claimed that the “Mangalore Muslims” page will give a clue to today’s murder to police and the government, and that ‘to know the truth, Eshwarappa should be arrested and investigated, and made to confess that he gave the contract to Muslims to kill Harsha’,” stated the complaint according to Daijiworld.
The complaint also reportedly stated that the above post was false and aimed to create communal hate.
“It seems that the page is supporting Harsha’s murder, issuing a threat to Ajit Hanamakkanavar, and spreading false rumours about Eshwarappa, besides repeatedly uploading defamatory posts about Hindu organizations and Hindu political leaders,” the complaint stated.
The complaint stated that the post has been uploaded on Facebook to create Hindu-Muslim enmity and provoke communal riots. The case in this regard has been filed, and the investigation is on.
