Mangaluru: Authorities are tightening surveillance on social media platforms following a series of posts allegedly designed to incite communal unrest and disrupt public peace. In a recent development, the Uppinangady police registered a case after inflammatory content related to a youth’s murder in Bantwal was uploaded on the Instagram page ‘Maikala Trolls’. The posts were said to carry divisive and provocative messages, potentially endangering law and order.
The case was registered on Monday under Sections 353(2), 55, and 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, due to the potential of the content to disturb communal harmony.
In another instance, Dhanush, a resident of Kuriyala village, filed a complaint stating that a photo from his personal Instagram profile — showing him with the murder victim — had been illegally reused. The image, along with communally charged captions, was circulated on Instagram handles like ‘Troll Abraham’, ‘Maikala Troll’, and ‘Karavali Official’, falsely implicating him and inciting hatred.
Responding to this, Bantwal Rural police booked a case under Sections 353(1)(B) and 353(2) of the BNS, 2023.
Meanwhile, Mangalore South police flagged another Instagram post from ‘troll_master.__’ for attempting to stir public unrest. Head Constable Manjunath noticed the post, which included images of Bharath Kumdel, Sharan Pumpwell, and Srikanth Karkala, and urged the public to surround the Police Commissioner’s office unless certain arrests were made. The post also promoted a protest organized by SDPI.
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