Provocative posts on social media can be dreadfull. In less than a fortnight, two incidents in Gujarat have come to light where objectionable social media posts led to killing of a youth in Dhanduka and violence in Surat.
A 30 year old man identified as Kishan Bharwad was shot dead on January 25 by two bike-borne men in Dhandhuka town allegedly over an objectionable Facebook video posted by him. In the second case, two students of KP Commerce College in Athwalines, Surat, were beaten by others, including some anti-social students for posting “Shri Krishna Bhagwan”.
One of the victims said, “ I managed to make a hair-breadth escape and immediately contacted the police. A college student named Shoaib, threatened to remove the post by phone. Later Javed Khan also called and threatened me. I was also attacked by 10 assailants. ‘’
The case was later reported to the Umra police station and a case was registered against the accused. After the matter was brought to the notice of Umra police, a convoy of high-ranking officials reached the spot to control the situation. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, an RSS-affiliated student union, demanded that the college administrator take action against such elements and suspend them. Yash Gopla of ABVP demanded suspension of the college administrator and threatened to seal the college if his demand was not accepted. ABVP activists also chanted slogans at KP Commerce College on Saturday.
