The 2013 Riots at Muzaffarnagar might have started due to controversial Reasons, but a Video shared on Social Networking website Facebook allegedly fuelled the violence. Finally UP Police had to request the Facebook Officials to get the video removed from the website.
Also Read: What Triggered Muzaffarnagar Riots ?
The Video allegedly showed a group of men beating two men (from a different community) to death and it claimed to be filmed during the recent violence at Kawal Village at Muzaffarabad.
Police clarified that the video was old and had no connection with the Kawal village incident, while it requested Facebook to drop it. The Video was downloaded by one guy from Youtube and posted it on Facebook with a caption line of Muzaffarpur Violence. The Video immediately went viral and was re-shared by thousands of people, including a local MLA.
Update:Â An India Today Report says that, the video was actually from Sialkot in Pakistan, where a mob had lynched two guys to death in 2010 for allegedly being Robbers. The Video was later banned in Pakistan.
Police have booked a case at the Kotwali police station in Muzaffarnagar against a large number of People including the MLA for sharing the video. They have been charged with Sections 420 (forgery), 153-A (promoting enmity on religious grounds) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.
The MLA however defends his action, “I don’t know why have the police dragged my name in the case. I came to know about it yesterday. No policemen has contacted me yet”.