New Delhi: Twitter Thursday suspended the account of Rangoli Chandel, actor Kangana Ranaut’s sister and manager, after she posted a tweet encouraging communal hatred and violence.
On 15 April, Chandel had tweeted claiming that the family of a Tablighi Jamaat member, who died of the coronavirus infection, had attacked police and doctors, but didn’t share any details or report of the incident.
“Make these mullas and secular media stand in a line and shoot them,” she added in the post and said “who cares if they call us Nazi”. The tweet was shared over 2,000 times and liked by 8,000 people.
Many users condemned Chandel for the post and sought police action.
Jewellery designer Farah Khan, who said the tweet was “shocking beyond belief”, demanded an FIR be registered.
Arrest this woman immediately for spreading vicious hatred and calling for killings of A community @MumbaiPolice .
Do also block this account @Twitter @TwitterIndia @jack for spreading religious hatred and fascism. https://t.co/NzBKK8JfZP— Farah Khan (@FarahKhanAli) April 16, 2020
Thank you @Twitter @TwitterIndia @jack for suspending this account. I reported this because she targeted a specific community and called for them to be shot along with liberal media and compared herself to the Nazis. ??? . pic.twitter.com/lJ3u6btyOm
— Farah Khan (@FarahKhanAli) April 16, 2020
Journalist Swati Chaturvedi also asked Twitter to suspend Chandel’s account for making “genocide calls”. Director Reema Kagti, whose filmography includes Gully Boy and Talaash, also called for police action against Chandel for spreading fake news and inciting hatred and violence. Badminton player Jwala Gutta and actor Kubbra Sait of Sacred Games fame were also among those who condemned Chandel.
Dear @Twitter gencocide calls from a verified account. Suspend. pic.twitter.com/lLUvEKdBcz
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) April 16, 2020
Yep…so many people like her indulging in racist and communal tweets but police is hardly reacting…I wonder why….I have myself have reported many hate comments…
— Gutta Jwala (@Guttajwala) April 16, 2020
I’ve blocked Rangoli and reported her to twitter.
But @MumbaiPolice @CMOMaharashtra @OfficeofUT This kind of hate mongering is irresponsible. Please look into it, and take necessary actions. https://t.co/WywccuZvKR— Kubbra Sait (@KubbraSait) April 16, 2020
@MumbaiPolice. Could you please look into this and take action? Isn’t this spreading fake news AND inciting hatred & violence against certain people?@OfficeofUT @AUThackeray https://t.co/tKCqS5CZgN
— Reema Kagti (@kagtireema) April 16, 2020
Following the complaints, Twitter took action and suspended the verified account which had over 95,000 followers.
This isn’t the first time Chandel has triggered a controversy with her tweets.
Earlier this week, she called for suspending the 2024 Lok Sabha election given the economic crisis India is facing during the pandemic. Last week, she claimed she received a warning from Twitter but didn’t explain why. Following this, she called the social networking site “anti-national” and said the platform would “go to graveyard” if they suspended her account.
Also read: Coronavirus was a test of secular nationalism. Then Tablighi Jamaat became the scapegoat