A Facebook page journalist has been charged with filing a false information report with police in Rajouri district on October 10.
A high-ranking police official said that a FIR was filed after a complaint from a local man named Farooq (not his real name).
The journalist for the local Facebook page allegedly posted a video online in which he claimed to have seen local youth with unnamed individuals carrying AK-47 rifles, and the complaint states that Farooq (name changed) was linked to militants and had returned home after leaving his mobile phone at the scene. But he took the video down from YouTube and Facebook within a few hours.
The complaint led to the filing of First Information Report (FIR) No. 102 of 2023, which cites sections 384, 500, 504, 505, and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. These paragraphs cover crimes, including spreading rumours and making threats.
A Facebook journalist allegedly sought a large sum of money from the complainant, who refused. The journalist then allegedly became hostile and threatened to publish fabricated stories linking the complainant to terrorists if he did not pay up.
The lawsuit also said that the Facebook journalist’s libellous and fraudulent stories had heightened tensions in the community and made people feel unsafe.
Because of this, there were many people hanging around there late at night.
The Facebook journalist apparently erased the video and left his hometown to avoid prosecution.
To prevent him from future activities that might impair peace and national integrity, the complainant has requested that the SHO Police Station Kandi and SSP Rajouri have him arrested.
Farooq (name changed) included a copy of the video in his complaint, claiming that it proved his case against a Facebook journalist.
The Facebook journalist will face appropriate legal penalties after the police have finished their investigation, the officer said. KS
