Telangana Books Meta India Head, Others Over Objectionable Posts On PM Modi

Telangana Cyber Crime Police have registered two criminal cases against the operators of multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with Meta India's head, over the alleged circulation of morphed and objectionable social media content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The cases stem from complaints submitted by BJP supporters, who alleged that manipulated images and videos of the Prime Minister were shared online during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation over the NEET paper leak issue, as per a report by The Times of India (TOI).

Police have invoked relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. The operators of the identified social media accounts, along with Meta India's head, have been named as co-accused in the cases.

According to the report, a cybercrime investigator said that they have issued a notice to Meta about the cases registered and the objectionable links reported by the complainants. "We are also trying to collect details about the accused to identify and arrest them."

Police Issue Notice To Meta

The investigators said all the social media links referred to in the complaints had become inactive by Thursday evening. However, efforts are continuing to identify the individuals responsible for operating the accounts and to examine the content that was flagged.

One of the complainants, T Saikiran Goud, a member of the Telangana BJP's social media core committee, reportedly submitted 20 Facebook and Instagram links to the police on Wednesday night, seeking action against Meta for hosting the content.

"On behalf of Telangana BJP karyakarthas, we seek an investigation into certain Instagram accounts that have been publishing and circulating content which, in our opinion, is derogatory towards Prime Minister and appear to promote narratives that may be prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and public order of the nation," Goud said in his complaint, as per TOI.

He urged the police to identify the individuals operating the accounts and initiate legal action against them.

In a separate complaint, BJP supporter S Aravind Reddy from Nampally alleged that several Instagram handles had circulated "obscene" videos and images.

"I came across multiple morphed and digitally manipulated videos and images depicting the Prime Minister, US President and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan in an obscene, derogatory and misleading manner. Such content has the potential to mislead the public," Reddy alleged in his complaint, as per TOI.