Hate speeches: Eight BJP functionaries issued notices by Chhattisgarh police for social media posts

They have been asked to appear before police and present factual statements related to such posts, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.

Raipur: Eight Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries were issued notices by Chhattisgarh police on Friday for allegedly posting content on social media that spreads hate, an official said. They have been asked to appear before police and present factual statements related to such posts, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said.

The eight comprise BJP spokesperson Sanjay Shrivastava, IT cell in charge of BJP Chhattisgarh's Twitter handle Sunil Pillai, treasurer Nandan Jain, BJP trade cell president Kedarnath Gupta, BJP Yuva Morcha Mandal president Yogi Sahu, divisional Yuva Morcha coordinator Kamal Sharma, DD Nagar BJP Yuva Morcha member Shubhankar and party worker Bittu Panigrahi. The Congress had, on April 12, filed a complaint with Raipur police claiming such posts were spreading hate.

As per the police notice, these posts by BJP members allegedly used derogatory terms for Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the communal violence in Biranpur in the state's Bemetara district. The notice was based on a Supreme Court order dated October 21 last year directing action against hate speeches, police said.

After a fight among schoolchildren, violence rocked Biranpur village, some 100 kilometres from state capital Raipur on April 8, leading to the death of 22-year-old Bhuneshwar Sahu and injuries to three policemen. Two houses were burnt during the statewide 'bandh' (shutdown) called by right-wing organisations on April 10, while the bodies of villagers Rahim Mohammad and his son Idul Mohammad were found with multiple injuries at a murum mine on April 11. (PTI)