FIR against people behind 8 social media accounts in Kanpur violence

Kanpur Police on Monday registered an FIR against people behind a Facebook account and seven Twitter handles for allegedly spreading fake and provocative content about the June 3 violence here.

The FIR has been lodged against the operators of the Twitter handles -- 'JabirHu77384802', 'AlimehdiRizvi7', 'ullahghau$', 'ShoaibK89544990', 'moinudd15175525', 'mullaburhan', and 'ShamsTabrezQ' -- , and one Amit Singh Yadav of Mahoba, Additional CP (Crime) Sureshrao A Kulkarni said.

The people running these accounts allegedly posted provocative content which caused anger in the public, he said.

The accused have been booked under section 505 (making statements to induce public mischief) and 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication) of the Indian Penal Code, and section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

This is the fourth FIR registered in connection with the Kanpur violence.

Kotwali Police Station SHO Arun Kumar Tiwari acted as the complainant in the FIR.

Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team headed by Deputy CP (South) Sanjeev Tyagi, has started a probe into the incident.

Tyagi along with forensic experts visited the incident site to gather evidence, ACP (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari said.

Police have also put up posters carrying pictures of 40 key suspects allegedly involved in the incident at prominent places in and around the area where the violence had broke out, he added.

The hoardings carried the contact numbers of Becon Ganj Station House Officer to give tip-offs.

Within an hour, three suspects were identified by the locals, the ACP said.

Police also arrested nine more people on Monday in connection with the violence, taking the total number of those arrested to 38, officials said.