The Jharkhand Police have booked the unknown operators of two social media accounts for allegedly maligning Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the state, reported PTI.
At least two first information reports were filed after Soren and the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of running “shadow accounts” to tarnish the chief minister.
“Two FIRs have been registered for campaigns against the CM’s and the state’s image,” a police officer told the news agency.
The police asked Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to remove posts from accounts allegedly trying to influence the ongoing Assembly polls in the state, reported The Indian Express. They also sought information about the individuals managing these accounts.
While the first two cases were registered on November 8 against the “Ranchi Chaupal” page at Gonda and Ratu police stations in Ranchi, a third case was reportedly filed on Wednesday against the “Jharkhand Chaupal” page at Ranchi’s Cyber Crime police station.
The cases were registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with false statements related to elections and forgery. The police also invoked provisions of the Information Technology Act for the offence of identity theft and provisions of the Representation of People Act.
The Jharkhand Assembly polls are being held in two phases, of which the first concluded on November 13 and the second will conclude on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23, alongside that of the Maharashtra elections.
Soren alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had spent crores of rupees on social media campaigns and created 95,000 WhatsApp groups to target the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led coalition, reported PTI.
“We have lodged two complaints against social media platforms for shadow campaigns, at Gonda and Ratu police stations in Ranchi,” Jharkhand Mukti Morcha spokesperson Vinod Pandey told PTI.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha said it has raised the issue with the state’s Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, who took cognisance of their complaint.
In a statement, Soren criticised the BJP, saying that “dictators may possess billions of rupees” but it was “better to stick to principles rather than securing a win through unfair means”.
“I want to present an important report to you,” Soren said on X. “Crores of rupees have been spent on Facebook advertisements by the BJP to damage my and the state’s image through a ‘shadow campaign’.”
He alleged that advertisements worth Rs 72 lakh were spent in the past 30 days to promote social media pages like ‘Jharkhand Chaupal’ and ‘Ranchi Chaupal’.
“If you see the content of these pages, you will understand that their sole purpose is to tarnish my and the state’s image, spread religious frenzy and make people fight among themselves,” he said.
Soren claimed that while the BJP had spent crores to tarnish his image, he did “not spend a single rupee on any promotion which can be verified by visiting the ad library of any social media”.
The BJP rejected Soren’s allegations.
“Soren’s posts show his desperation and frustration,” BJP leader Deepak Prakash said. “He has understood that he has lost the battle and is posting such remarks out of sheer hopelessness. The allegations are fabricated, false and beyond truth.”
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