Beed District Cracks Down on Social Media Offences Amid Maratha Quota Violence

In Beed district, police identified 316 objectionable social media posts and registered 16 offences over the past two months. The surveillance follows violence during the Maratha quota agitation, resulting in targeted homes of politicians. Authorities are taking action against individuals for posts involving caste issues and indecent language.

Beed district identified 316 objectionable posts on social media platforms and registered 16 offences in the last two months, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Police have been closely monitoring social media contents in Beed, where violence had erupted during the Maratha quota agitation and houses of some politicians were targeted.

''We have so far identified 316 posts on social media and deleted 263. We will trace those persons behind the rest 53 posts,'' Superintendent of Police Nandkumar Thakur told PTI.

Police have taken prohibitory action against 191 people and registered 16 offences, he added.

He said a majority of the social media posts are related to castes, indecent language, and morphing.

Police have shortlisted some of the active members and appropriate actions will be taken against them, Thakur said.

Notably, a video purportedly containing remarks against a particular community in the backdrop of tension between two caste groups in a village in Beed district has gone viral, prompting leaders of various political parties to appeal for peace.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) have appealed for maintaining peace and avoiding such commentary.