Gujarat communal video: Election Commission orders probe on activist's complaint
The Election Commission has asked Gujarat officials to probe circulation of a video on social media that shows a girl hurrying back home while azaan is heard in background in the clip.
The Election Commission has ordered probe into video, which is doing rounds on social media and being dubbed communal, on the complaint filed by lawyer-activist Govind Parmar.
The complaint sought investigation into the video for inciting communal hatred ahead of Gujarat Assembly elections. Taking serious note of the complaint, the Election Commission (EC) has instructed Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to initiate legal action against the culprits.
The 1.15 minute-long clip, which begins in Gujarati, shows a girl hurrying back to home through a deserted locality with azaan playing in the background. The clip ends with a line that reads, "Our vote, our safety."
Meanwhile, the cyber crime cell of Gujarat police in Ahmedabad has launched a probe into the complaint filed on Friday against the social media video. The complainant stated that the video clip circulating on social media platforms was meant to spread hatred against Muslims "to polarise votes" in poll-bound Gujarat.
Advocate Govind Parmar of Human Rights Law Network sent his complaint letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat, the cyber crime cell of Ahmedabad police, and the Election Commission with a request to ban the video clip and take action against those responsible for its creation and circulation.
Finally like ISI,Gujarat BJP has revealed its poisonous side of dividing India.Challenge the Prime Minister to show this clip to Moodys pic.twitter.com/WAsJOdbOKT- Sid (@sidmtweets) November 19, 2017
Nobody has claimed responsibility for making and circulating the video clip. In his letter, Parmar said the video attempts to spread hatred by whipping up fear towards the Muslim community with an attempt to polarise the votes.
"We request you to ban this video as well as other similar videos that attempt to spread hatred towards the minority community and also order the cyber crime in Ahmedabad to launch an investigation by top officials after registering an offence against all those shown in the video as well as those who created the video," he said.
He also sought action against the persons behind the video clip under section 153(A) - promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion - of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Information Technology (IT) Act.
(With PTI inputs)