Lucknow, Jul 21 (PTI) Three men were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district on Monday in connection with an alleged conspiracy to spread communal tensions and perpetrate a terror attack, police said in a statement.
Since Muzaffarnagar is a “sensitive district” and the Kanwar Yatra is going on, a close watch is being kept on the social media and information is being collected from a security point of view, police added.
“In this regard, Kakrauli police station (in Muzaffarnagar) got information that some people in Kakrauli village are making a horrific, dangerous and sensational video and audio viral on the Kakrauli Yuva Ekta WhatsApp group, in which bodies of women and small children are shown lying soaked in blood in a house,” the statement said.
“In the audio clip, it is being said that the video is from near Mansoorpur Tharak Nagla in Moradabad district, where some people of Bajrang Dal are entering Muslim houses, killing people and not sparing anyone, be it young or old, women or children,” it added.
It was also being said in the audio that Muslims are being killed in this way in many villages and an appeal was made to make the video viral by sharing it as much as possible, the statement said.
A team from the Kakrauli police station arrested the three men for allegedly sharing the misleading audio and video on social media and a case was registered against them under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Information Technology Act.
Station Officer (SO), Kakrauli police station, Joginder Singh told PTI that Nadeem (25), Rahees (35) and Mansher (45) had shared the said video and audio clips in different WhatsApp groups.
Nadeem is a vegetable vendor and labourer and Rahees sells clothes and utensils. Both of them had studied up to Class 5, while Mansher, a junk dealer, had studied up to Class 6.
“Following detailed interrogation of Nadeem, Rahees and Mansher, and an analysis of the evidence, it came to light that prima facie, this viral video is of an incident from April 2024, which had taken place in Muzaffargarh district of Pakistan, where a man killed his wife and seven children by chopping them with an axe,” the statement said.
It added that the video was circulated as part of a “well-planned” conspiracy to incite the members of a particular community in Moradabad district to carry out terror incidents in western Uttar Pradesh.
“Their intention was to spread communal hatred among people, so that people get attracted towards the ideology of extremism and terrorism, and by inciting innocent people, social harmony can be spoiled, dissatisfaction towards the nation can be created and a major terrorist incident can be carried out,” the statement said.
Their intention was also to incite people and carry out a “lone wolf” terror attack, it added.
As part of the conspiracy, this video and audio clips were made viral in many WhatsApp groups that have members from a particular community in several districts of western Uttar Pradesh.
A detailed technical forensic evaluation of the mobile phones seized from the arrested accused will be done and on the basis of the evidence, all the people involved in the “forward” and “backward linkages” in the conspiracy will be identified and strict legal action taken against them, the statement said.
“On the basis of the evidence available till now, this was a very big criminal conspiracy, in which the involvement of some anti-social elements, anti-national organisations, terrorist organisations and Pakistani agencies cannot be ruled out,” it said, adding that due to the prompt police action, a “very big anti-national conspiracy has failed”.
Three mobile phones have been seized from the possession of the arrested men.
According to police, the WhatsApp groups in which the clips were reportedly shared by the arrested accused are — Khidmat Abbasi Group (of Meerut, with around 450 members), Proud Indian Muslims (of Moradabad, with around 450 members), Muslim Samaj Zindabad (of Muzaffarnagar, with around 150 members), All India Employed Group (around 850 members) and Kakrauli Yuva Ekta (of Muzaffarnagar, with around 150 members). PTI NAV RC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.