NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD, Aug 19:
India today asked Pakistan to crack down on elements based there who were using social media networking sites to fan communal sentiments and create a scare among people from northeast in this country.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in a telephonic conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik took up the issue of social media-networking sites being misused by elements in Pakistan to circulate false pictures and reports in a bid to create communal strife in India.
A Home Ministry spokesperson said Shinde expressed concern over this issue when Malik telephoned him to convey Eid greetings, a day after Union Home Secretary R K Singh said bulk of the rumours that triggered panic among people of Northeastern states in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were sourced from Pakistan.
In the first contact between the two Ministers after Shinde got the Home portfolio, the Indian minister sought Pakistan’s cooperation in checking and neutralising the elements.
Malik said so far India has not given any evidence on the role of Pakistan-based groups in this regard but said his country will look into it if it is provided.
“The Indian Minister has said that rumours were generated from Pakistan through cellular services,” he told reporters in Islamabad during an interaction about his phone conversation with Shinde.
“I had requested him (Shinde) to provide evidence in this regard to us and we will take care of it,” he added.
According to Singh, a total of 76 websites were identified where morphed images were uploaded and bulk of these were uploaded in Pakistan.
According to a report prepared by the Home Ministry, a Pakistan-based hardline group is suspected to have been involved in doctoring images and spreading them across social networking sites to whip up communal passions and create panic among people of northeastern region living across India.
Government is also learnt to have ordered blocking of 80 more Internet pages and user-accounts today on social networking sites including Facebook, Google and Twitter to avoid panic among the Northeasterners.
A Pakistan-based hardline group is suspected to have been involved in doctoring images and spreading them across social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and You Tube to incite Muslims and create scare among people of northeastern region living across India.
Most of the online content started getting posted from July 13 and fake profiles were created for spreading morphed pictures, according to a Home Ministry report prepared in the wake of mass exodus of people belonging to the north east from Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai following rumours about possible attack on them.
“Pictures have been taken from different places such as Tibet earthquake, Thailand etc and most of the fake profiles have been created since end of July,” the 43-page report said.
The ‘Preliminary report on use of social media to generate unrest and violence among different communities’ said that some Indians, who had uploaded the online content, images and videos, have linked the Myanmar and Assam issues.
“It is just a small sample of what is available, most of the posts are in vernacular mediums, translation of which have not been attempted,” it said.
The report noted that social media, e-mails, Internet chat rooms and VOIP calls were rampantly being used to spread disinformation and rumours to provoke unrest in Assam and other parts of the country.
“Within a short duration, threats and counter-threats have been spread far and wide using the digital media. A lot many threats have been made in the open while certain plans and coordination activities are being carried out in chat rooms, mails etc.
“These unidentified Muslim extremists are waging an online campaign after the outbreak of violent clashes in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims,” it said.
These elements are using the Internet and its social media sites for the dissemination of exaggerated accounts of the violence in Assam and for re-circulating fabricated evidences to inflame the passions of Muslims in different parts of India during the fasting period of Ramzan, it said.
The investigators have also found that those behind the online content indicated a step up in violence after Eid.
The report also said that fake profiles were created around the end of last month to push the online content aggressively on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to provoke violence.
In the online campaign, the Assam violence has been shown as part of events where Muslims were allegedly being persecuted.
Government is learnt to have ordered blocking of 80 more Internet pages and user-accounts today on social networking sites including Facebook, Google and Twitter to avoid panic among people of northeastern region living across India.
All these sites were found hosting inflammatory and hateful content, spreading rumours and inciting violence targeting the people from north-east, Government sources said.
Yesterday, the Government had issued instructions to block 76 Internet sites, which included web-pages and some websites, and had said that bulk of the rumours that triggered panic among people of North-eastern states in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were sourced from Pakistan.
“We have found inflammatory and objectionable contents on some pages of Facebook and Google. Some user-accounts at Twitter were also found spreading similar contents. All together, around 80 such pages and accounts have been ordered to be blocked today,” the sources said.
Meanwhile, two passengers of a Guwahati-bound special train carrying northeast people fleeing Bangalore were killed and seven others injured today after they were beaten up and pushed out by unidentified persons.
Police and railway authorities remained tightlipped on the identity of the attacked passengers, who hailed from Assam, pending an investigation.
The police found two bodies and the seven injured persons near the tracks at Belakoba railway station, a few km from New Jalpaiguri station.
“The two had died on the spot. We do not know the reason behind the incident. We are investigating the matter,” New Jalpaiguri area manager (rail) Partho Sarthi Seal said.
Railway sources quoting one of the injured passengers admitted to the district hospital said they were looted of their belongings and beaten up severely before being thrown out of the train by unknown persons.
The injured have been admitted to the district hospital and the North Bengal Medical College Hospital.
A large number of people blocked train movement at the New Jalpaiguri station in protest against the incident as a result of which some Assam-bound express trains and local trains were stranded.
Later in the day, the blockade was lifted.
The Railways announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15,000 each to the two dead passengers and ex-gratia of Rs 500 each to the seven injured.
The kin of the passengers, who hailed from Hailakandi district in Assam and had confirmed tickets upto Guwahati, would be given the amount, Divisional Commercial Officer (DCM) of Katihar Division of East Central Railway B K Mishra said.
Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi today called for stern action against those disturbing social harmony in the country in the aftermath of Assam violence, describing the ethnic clashes in the northeastern state as a matter of “great sorrow and concern”.
“Whatever happened in Assam is a matter of great sorrow and conern. Swift action should be taken against those responsible for the incident, whoever they are,” Gandhi said addressing a ceremony to confer the 20th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhawana Award here.
Gandhi said all sections of society should condemn what happened in some states against the people of northeast after the ethnic clashes in Assam.
“The Central and the State Governments should take stern action against those who are spoiling the harmony,” she said noting that maintaining social amity was one of the biggest challenges before the country in the present circumstances.
The Congress President stressed that the people of the country living anywhere have all the right to inhabit and work in any part of the country.
She said that the biggest challenge before the country since Independence has come from elements, who are enemies of social harmony and unity and only those are true patriots who fought such elements and promoted social solidarity.(PTI)
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