Kolkata police book activist for misinformation

Kolkata police booked activist Madhu Purnima Kishwar on Monday for tweeting the video of an Islamic rally in Bangladesh and claiming that it was held in Kolkata.

Kolkata: A case was filed against activist Madhu Purnima Kishwar on Monday for tweeting the video of an Islamic rally in Bangladesh, claiming that it was held in Kolkata, police said.

A senior officer of the Kolkata Police said that the song in the video clearly refers to Bangladesh.

"In fact, we can see several flags of Bangladesh in the video," he said. "But, the person who shared the video on social media said it to be Kolkata. This is absolutely incorrect and misleading, posing a threat to the law and order here," he added.

Based on the FIR lodged against Kishwar, the Kolkata Police's Information Technology (IT) unit has started a probe into the matter, the officer said. Marking Kishwar's tweet as fake, the city police said on social media: "#FakeNewsAlert A video clip from Bangladesh is being falsely claimed to be from Kolkata. Legal action initiated."

Kishwar, who has a verified Twitter handle with over 20 lakh followers, then deleted the clip and apologised, stating that the video was sent to her by "an otherwise reliable friend".

"Dear @KolkataPolice, I have never knowingly indulged in spreading fake news. I deleted it the moment a friend called & alerted me. This video was sent to me by an otherwise reliable friend. My sincere apologies for having forwarded it, mistaking procession in Dacca for Kolkatta," she tweeted.

PTI