By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Police, which has been facing flaks from all quarters for its inapt handling of the Muzaffarnagar riots and little actions in bringing the perpetrators, wants a news-portal BeyondHeadlines.in to delete a particular news content as the local administration fears that it might “harm communal harmony” and may lead to untoward actions.
BeyondHeadlines received a mail on Tuesday night from the Senior Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarnagar, appealing to the Editor to delete a particular article, written by social activist Himanshu Kumar, who wrote a blog based on his visit to the village Kawal.
Kawal is the village, where first Shahnawaz was killed and later villagers beat Gaurav and Sachin to death, the trigger for the Muzaffarnagar-Shamli riot.
What is interesting to note is that not a single event mentioned in the story is new and has been in public domain for few months now as one of the versions, which might have been contradicted by some.
In fact the article, written in Hindi, quotes from NDTV and Daily Bhashkar to substantiate the point made, where the girl, allegedly whom Shahnawaz had teased had told media that she never met him.
The article also cites the two FIRs filed by respective families and falsifying the claim that eve-teasing was the main reason behind the communal flare-up. It also mentions questions the role of the BJP leaders in the riot, who had shared fake video on social media, inciting violence.
In the letter written in Hindi, Muzaffarnagar SSP HN Singh has said that for the last five months Muzaffarnagar has been communally charged up, and hence appealed for remove the content lest it incites the communities and flare up communal tension again.
Editor (Investigation) of BH, Afroz Alam Sahil told TCN that he got call from Up Police urging them to remove the content on Tuesday night, and when he urged them to send them in writing, within an hour, he received the mail from the SSP.
Meanwhile, Himanshu Kumar defended his write-up saying that it is based on his trip and conservation with the people in Kawal, and cites the FIR. Questioning the UP police intervention on ‘freedom of expression,’ he wondered if UP too is “Modi like,” implying the kind of unsaid censorship existing in Gujarat under Narendra Modi.