Loni assault case: UP Police send legal notice to Twitter India head, others

Ghaziabad police have sent legal notices to Twitter's India head and others accused of sharing the viral video of an elderly Muslim man being assaulted in Loni, Ghaziabad with the intent of "provoking communal unrest."

The notices were sent through the mail. Twitter India Managing Director (MD) Manish Maheshwari has been summoned to the Loni Border Police Station. He has also been asked to record his statement within seven days.

The Uttar Pradesh government had on Tuesday registered an FIR at the station against Twitter, journalists, and two Congress leaders for sharing the video.

Also Read: Twitter loses legal indemnity due to non-compliance of new IT rules

"There is no communal angle to the incident in Loni where a man was thrashed and his beard was chopped off. The following entities -- The Wire, Rana Ayyub, Mohammad Zubair, Dr Shama Mohammed, Saba Naqvi, Maskoor Usmani, Slaman Nizami -- without checking the fact, started giving communal colour to the incident on Twitter," the Ghaziabad Police claimed in the FIR.

Delhi Police had on Thursday received a complaint against actor Swara Bhasker, Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari, and others over the same issue. However, a new FIR has not been filed yet.

72-year-old Sufi Abdul Samad Saifi was thrashed by six people on June 5. The elderly man was beaten up by the assailants who chopped off his beard and forced him to chant "Vande Mataram" and "Jai Shri Ram". The video of the assault went viral on social media a few days later and was shared by many.

Also Read: 30-year-old Indian woman killed in rocket attack by Palestinian militants in Israel

The elderly Muslim man lodged an FIR against unidentified persons on June 7. The victim was accompanied by local Samajwadi Party leader Ummed Pahalwan Idrisi.

He also took part in a Facebook Live later where the elderly man alleged that he was not only beaten by the assailants but also forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram."

Meanwhile, the police have, so far, arrested nine people accused of thrashing the old man. Of those, two were granted bail on Thursday.