Police have started a case against several Facebook profiles and Twitter handles for allegedly morphing old purported videos with the “Khela Hobe” song and posting them as post-election celebrations in Bengal.
Several social media posts containing video clips of violence in other states are being circulated as evidence of violence in Bengal, an officer said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee while addressing the media on Wednesday at Nabanna said many people were spreading rumours and fake news about violence in the state.
A senior police officer at Lalbazar said the cyber cell of the city police had started a case for sedition, publishing or circulating statements or reports containing rumours or alarming news with the intent to create or promote feelings of enmity and hatred on grounds of caste and community, as well as under the Information Technology Act for circulating fake news knowingly or unknowingly on social media.
The police said they would send summons to the profile holders and seek their presence at Lalbazar for examination in connection with the case.
“We have also written to Facebook and Twitter identifying these posts with a request to delete them from social media platforms,” the officer said.
Sources said the list of fake posts includes a video purportedly tweeted by a senior official of the social media cell of the BJP women’s wing on Tuesday.
The video shows a group of people dancing with their arms raised in the air, some of them holding daggers, big knives and guns. The video has “khela hobe” as the background track.
The tweet has 1,70,000 views, has been re-tweeted 595 times and has 1,180 “likes” till Wednesday evening.
However, on receiving a specific complaint, Calcutta police probed the origin of the video and found that it had been posted on YouTube six months ago by an account holder named “Real Entertainment”.
The video has been posted with a tagline of “gun dance WhatsApp status / gangster dance” and has 5,800 views, 71 likes and four “thumbs down” till Wednesday.
Police sources said the same video was found in the instagram account of another person who had posted it almost eight months ago, on September 26, 2020.
“There are several such posts that are being circulated on social media with an intention to show the law and order situation of Bengal after the elections in poor light. This is extremely dangerous as it may trigger violence and cause loss of life and property and create disharmony. Hence, we request all not to circulate any post without verifying or cross-checking its authenticity,” said a senior police officer of the rank of additional director general of police.
Thousands of people, including many, who have no means or intention to verify, forward messages and videos on WhatsApp, post them on their Facebook timelines or re-tweet them without realising the consequences of spreading fake news.
Calcutta police had been initiating cases and examining people who were found to be part of such activities that amount to cybercrime. Officers said strict action would be taken against people if found circulating fake news on social media that could trigger violence in the city or the state.
The charges under which the case has been started, if proved, could lead to a maximum punishment of three years in jail.