Kanpur: FIR against YouTube channels, others for Ram Navami stone-pelting 'rumours'

Police in Kanpur have registered an FIR against several unidentified people and YouTube channels for allegedly spreading rumours about stone-pelting incidents during a Ram Navami procession in the city's Moolganj area, officials said on Tuesday.

The rumours sparked panic, particularly after reports began circulating that hundreds of office bearers of right-wing Hindu outfits, and others had been named in the FIR.

Additional commissioner of police (law and order) Harish Chander dismissed the claims as baseless. "The FIR does not name any office bearer of right-wing Hindu outfits or devotees. They were not involved in any wrongdoing," he stated.

The FIR was registered on Monday based on a complaint filed by a police sub-inspector who was posted in Moolganj to oversee the procession.

According to the complaint, the Ram Navami procession was moving from Naya Chowk to Meston Road via Misri Bazar on Sunday when panic gripped the attendees over a rumour that stones had been thrown at the procession from nearby buildings. Police forces were immediately dispatched to the spot to control the situation and maintain law and order.

In his complaint, sub-inspector Ramanand said unidentified individuals and several YouTube channels were responsible for circulating the false information to incite unrest.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the crime branch, local intelligence unit and the cyber cell have been tasked with identifying those who spread the rumour. "Stringent action will be taken against those found responsible for trying to disturb the peace," the official said.

The FIR has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including section 132 (criminal force against a public servant), section 223 (disobedience to orders of public servants), sections 270 and 292 (public nuisance), section 293 (continuance of public nuisance), section 353(2) (spreading false information with the intent to promote enmity or hatred between groups), and section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

Additionally, a number of FIRs have been filed in different police stations of Kanpur, including those at Rawatpur and Moolganj, against people for allegedly using prohibited or excessively loud DJ sound systems during the Ram Navami celebrations.