The district election office in Amroha has issued notices to the Superintendent of Police seeking action against four YouTubers under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct through their posts.
Police in Amroha said a decision to file an FIR will only be taken after a probe. But two of these four YouTubers claimed that they were just covering elections and have stopped doing so now for “fear” of the authorities.
The notices seen by Newslaundry include a cursory mention of the said posts or videos, and claim that they attempted to mislead voters by tarnishing certain candidates. Newslaundry has not reviewed any of the posts or videos mentioned in the notices.
Newslaundry reached out to Amroha ADM Chandrakanta, who told us to speak to EC officials.
Asked about the notices, Amroha district election officer Subhash Singh said that “broadcasting misleading and offensive news is a violation of the MCC. These YouTubers have shared such videos on all social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp. The notice has been issued for misleading the voters and maligning the image of the candidates.”
‘Voice suppressed’
The first notice was issued to Ravindra Saini on March 22, who has been operating a YouTube channel Janhit Kranti 24 for the last 18 months and has around 7,000 subscribers. The notice accused him of tarnishing the image of BJP candidate Kanwar Singh Tanwar in a video uploaded on his channel.
However, he claimed that he had just uploaded a news clip on his channel which showed locals raising slogans against the BJP candidate. “Our voice is being suppressed,” he said, adding that he has restricted the video’s viewer settings from public to private.
Saini said he was called to the Rahra police station and made to sign an undertaking of apology. “I am not covering the elections now as I am afraid of legal action.”
But Rahra police station SHO Ramesh Sehrawat denied that Saini was made to sign any such undertaking. He said a report has been sent to the ADM. “Investigation is underway and no action has been taken.”
‘No claim objectionable’
The second YouTuber is Rajeev Kumar, who lives in Dhanaura village and runs the Pratham TV News India YouTube channel with nearly 7,000 subscribers, and has been named in two notices on March 28 and April 5.
While the notice on March 28 accused Kumar of tarnishing the image of INDIA bloc candidate Danish Ali, the one on April 5 said he had uploaded a video in favour of BSP candidate Chaudhary Mujahid Hussain.
The notices mention the thumbnail text of the videos. “Stormy tours mark BSP candidate Dr Chaudhary Mujahid Hussain’s campaign” and another that mentioned that the BSP candidate got “blessings from Muslim elders”. The one linked to Danish Ali’s video claimed the thumbnail said he had “cheated Muslims and Dalits”.
However, Kumar said there was nothing objectionable about the videos and that he is now scared. “We are not covering the elections because of fear of the administration filing cases against us.”
Dhanaura police circle officer Shwetabh Bhaskar said the police are yet to act on the notices since “they lack clarity”. A decision will be taken only after investigation, he said.
‘Pro-Mayawati slogans’
On April 5, two other notices were issued to Ashekeen Qureshi and Istekhar from Hassanpur.
Qureshi, who runs the JPN7 News YouTube channel with nearly 11,000 subscribers, has been accused of maligning the reputation of candidates. When Newslaundry reached out to him for comment, he refused to comment saying he was not aware of any such notice.
Istekhar, who is a reporter with Munsif TV, is accused of misleading voters through a WhatsApp post on the ‘Munsif TV Amroha’ WhatsApp channel on March 3. The notice alleged that the post mentioned slogans in favour of BSP chief Mayawati.
However, Istekhar claims that he is just the admin of the WhatsApp group where the message was posted. “I will see about it after the elections are over.”
Hassanpur police circle officer Deep Kumar Pant said an FIR will only be lodged after a preliminary probe.
The Amroha SP could not be reached for comment.
This report was first published in Hindi. It was translated by Anupam Tiwari.
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