Hyderabad: Even as representatives of the Cockroach Janatha Party (CJP) have voiced concerns over the Union govt’s alleged failure to honour assurances that no criminal action would be taken against protesters, Hyderabad police have registered two cases against operators of certain Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as India head of Meta, over allegedly morphed and objectionable content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the CJP agitation.The cases were registered by Hyderabad cyber crime police on complaints lodged by BJP supporters, who alleged that manipulated videos and images of the Prime Minister were being circulated on social media platforms.Based on the complaints, police registered two separate cases under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act against operators of the identified social media accounts. The India head of Meta was also named as a co-accused in both cases.“We have issued a notice to Meta about the cases registered and the objectionable links reported by the complainants. We are also trying to collect details about the accused to identify and arrest them,” a cyber crime investigator said.Police said efforts were underway to trace the individuals behind the social media accounts.On Wednesday night, T Saikiran Goud (32), a social media core committee member of Telangana BJP, approached the police after reportedly coming across objectionable reels while browsing Instagram and Facebook.“On behalf of Telangana BJP karyakarthas, we seek an investigation into certain Instagram accounts that have been publishing and circulating content which, in our opinion, is derogatory towards Prime Minister and appear to promote narratives that may be prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and public order of the nation,” the complainant alleged, while requesting police to identify the individuals operating the accounts and initiate legal action against them.Saikiran submitted 20 Facebook and Instagram links that allegedly contained morphed and objectionable videos of the Prime Minister. He also sought action against Meta for allowing such content to be hosted on its platforms.In a separate complaint, S Aravind Reddy, a BJP supporter from Nampally, alleged that certain Instagram handles were circulating objectionable and digitally manipulated content featuring PM Modi.“I came across multiple morphed and digitally manipulated videos and images depicting the Prime Minister, US President and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan in an obscene, derogatory and misleading manner. Such content has the potential to mislead the public and spread misinformation. Initiate appropriate legal action against the persons posting and circulating the content. Also take legal action against head of Meta in India for allowing such posts on their platform,” Reddy complained.By Thursday evening, all the links cited in the complaints had become inactive.
