IPS Officer on leave studying at IIM, Lucknow files FIR against Facebook
Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Amitabh Thakur filed an FIR against social networking website Facebook for hosting a group called ‘I hate Gandhi’ at Gomti Nagar police station in Lucknow. Amitabh Thakur, who’s on leave from IPS service and studying at Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow), alleged in his complaint that “open abuses and dirty words” have been used against Gandhi, with intent of causing riots.
Thakur claims that he communicated with each member of the group individually to remove the undesired objectionable contents before filing the complaint. His request was turned down by the members of the group. The FIR therefore mentions Facebook and the names of several members of the group as accused.
The FIR includes several sections of the Indian Penal Code like, causing public nuisance (section 290), intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace (section 504), section 153 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of communities and other grounds), 153 A (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 153 B (public nuisance), criminal intimidation (section 506) and using information technology for these purposes (section 66A of the IT Act).
What’s your take on this? Is it an obvious publicity stunt or a genuine endeavour to avert rioting? Do let us know in the comments section.
Image via: Facebook
