The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a first information report against news website The Wire and three of its journalists for allegedly sp...
The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a first information report against news website The Wire and three of its journalists for allegedly spreading false information and trying to create religious animosity through a video about the demolition of a mosque in Barabanki district in May, The Hindu reported.
The Barabanki administration had claimed that the 100-year-old mosque was an illegal residential complex and was demolished on orders from the sub-divisional magistrate’s court. The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had criticised the decision, calling it an abuse of power.
The Wire uploaded a video documentary on the demolition on Wednesday. In it, members of the mosque’s committee claimed that they had proof that the structure was legal, according to The Hindu.
Barabanki District Magistrate Adarsh Singh claimed the video falsely showed that the police threw religious scriptures of a community into a river after the demolition. “Such an incident did not happen,” he said.
The three journalists named in the FIR were Seraj Ali, Mohammed Anees, and Mukul Chauhan. The case was filed under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 505 (1) (b) (intent to cause or likely to cause fear or alarm among the public), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (criminal act done...
