Two groups clash over social media posts in Rajkot

Rajkot, January 29

Instagram ‘stories’ and a discussion on it on a Whatsapp group led to a clash between people from two religious communities in Gujarat’s Rajkot city, after which a case was registered, a police official said on Saturday.

A Bhaktinagar police station official said members of the two communities met to resolve the issue at a pre-decided spot on Thursday night, but things got out of hand and the motorcycle of one person was damaged, he said.

“Individuals from two religious communities posted Instagram stories, which are auto-deleted after 24 hours, and claimed their sentiments were hurt. They asked each other to remove the posts and agreed to meet at a spot to discuss the matter. Nearly half a dozen people from both sides arrived on Thursday night,” Zone I Deputy Commissioner of Police Praveen Meena said.

“They were forced to disperse by a police patrol van as night curfew is in place for the coronavirus outbreak. While dispersing, one of them damaged the motorcycle of a person from the other group,” he added.

An FIR was lodged against the group under sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 427 (mischief causing damage to property), and 114 (abettor present when crime committed) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.