In a decisive move to counter online hate speech, authorities have deactivated four Instagram accounts and one Facebook page found sharing inflammatory content designed to provoke communal unrest.

This brings the total to six Instagram pages and one Facebook page removed across India for posting material that allegedly incited hatred between religious and social communities. The posts were reportedly crafted to provoke criminal actions by intensifying communal discord.

Police registered cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including:

  1. vhp_bajrangadal_ashoknagar and shankha_nada (Instagram) – FIR 42/2025 at Udupi Police Station under IPC Sections 353(1) and 353(2).
  2. _dj_bharath_2008 (Instagram) – FIR 69/2025 at Kaup Police Station under the same IPC Sections.
  3. karaavali_official (Instagram) – FIR 86/2025 at Mangaluru South Police Station under IPC Sections 196, 351(3), and 353(2).
  4. Ashik Maikal (Facebook) – FIR 47/2025 at Barkur Police Station under IPC Section 353(2).

All these investigations have been handed over to the CEN Crime Branch of Mangaluru City Police. Official requests were sent to social media platforms to deactivate these accounts across the nation, and the accounts have since been taken down.

The operation is being conducted under the supervision of Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, IPS; DCP Siddharth Goyal, IPS (Crime & Security); and ACP Ravishankar (Admin & Law & Order).

Officials emphasized continued monitoring of digital platforms to combat content threatening public harmony.

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