New Delhi: Suspended civil servant Ashish Joshi, who had filed a complaint against AAP rebel Kapil Mishra, has now in another complaint to the Delhi Police alleged links between Twitter trolls and two news portals while accusing them of “controlling and coordinating an army of trolls”.
Joshi, an officer of the Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Services (IP&TAFS), was suspended by the Modi government last month after he filed a complaint with the Delhi Police Commissioner against a controversial video uploaded by Mishra on Twitter.
The video shows Mishra emphasising on “the need to attack India’s internal enemies” such as journalist Barkha Dutt and activists Prashant Bhushan, Kavita Krishnan and Shehla Rashid.
In his latest complaint to police, Joshi claims that two Twitter handles — @TrueIndology and @batmanbabu — actively engage in trolling women and minorities and have connections with two news portals: OpIndia.com and MyNation.com.
Joshi has called for an FIR to be filed against the websites and the two Twitter handles and for appropriate action to be taken under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
So far, however, the Delhi Police have not filed an FIR but TrueIndology was Monday suspended by Twitter after Joshi’s complaint while the other account, @batmanbabu, could not be traced.
Joshi’s complaint also has screenshots of @batmanbabu allegedly trolling journalists and critics of the BJP government.
On being contacted by ThePrint, editor-in-chief of MyNation.com Abhijeet Majumdar refused to comment on the issue. Editor, OpIndia, Nupur J. Sharma, told ThePrint, “We don’t wish to comment on people who appear disturbed. We hope he seeks help and gets well soon.”
Also read: I was doing my job, don’t regret it: Civil servant Ashish Joshi suspended by Modi govt
Portals unleashing the trolls: Joshi’s complaint
As per Joshi’s complaint, the portal OpIndia.com has an army of trolls along with @TrueIndology that it unleashes on people.
“I was shocked to receive a threat on social media (Twitter). The handle @batmanbabu threatened to rape my wife. I was harassed and abused by trolls massively when I questioned the views of handle @TrueIndology on Sufism,” Joshi’s complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik reads.
“I responded to @TrueIndology’s defamatory and anti-minority tweet against noted journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani,” Joshi said.
“Immediately after my tweet on Sherwani Afgan Sufi Saint, two website portals OpIndia.com and mynation.com published slanderous and defamatory articles against me. In the articles, the two portals defended @TrueIndology,” the officer wrote.
‘Found links between Twitter accounts’
In his complaint, Joshi has further written that he has found a connection between the Twitter handles @batmanbabu and @TrueIndology. The officer also attached screenshots to prove the point.
“It is clear from above facts that vicious and abusive trolls were unleashed against me, especially the handles @batmanbabu by @TrueIndology handle,” the complaint reads. “There is enough circumstantial evidence and direct evidence to prove that handle @batmanbabu is directly linked with the handles @TrueIndology and @OpIndia.com.”
He also accused @TrueIndology of “blatantly indulging in hate-mongering against the minority communities of India, which is a violation of sections 153A & 295 A of the IPC”.
Joshi has requested that the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police to cross-check the timeline of @TrueIndology which is “filled with hate against fellow citizens and is also spreading falsehood in the name of Indian History which is again a violation of IPC sections”.
Also read: Modi govt suspends civil servant who complained against Kapil Mishra’s ‘incendiary’ video