BJP's IT In-Charge for Asansol district, Tarun Sengupta, has been arrested on charges of 'spreading fake news and creating communal disharmony', the CID tweeted today.
In the wake of ongoing unrest in West Bengal, following communal clashes triggered by an 'objectionable' Facebook post, a string of fake news were allegedly used to ignite the dire situation.
Last week, the Kolkata police said they arrested another person for sharing an image from a Bhojpuri film that showed a woman assaulted by a group of men, claiming it be one from North 24 Parangas, purportedly to target the West Bengal government for its atrocities on Hindus.
The police had also registered a non-bailable warrant against BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for passing off a picture of the 2002 Gujarat riots as that of the violence in West Bengal's Basirhat.
"Since trolls spent a sleepless night covering-up Basirhat violence, sharing media pics of the riots. Hope they report this to @WBPolice too," Sharma posted on the micro- blogging site and attached an image of charred vehicles along with it.
When twitter users pointed to her that the picture was from 2002, a defiant Sharma said the photo reflected the reality of Bengal, irrespective of the place.
West Bengal's Basirhat and North 24 Parganas are in the grip of unrest and chaos after a Facebook post by a 17-year-old on Prophet Mohammad angered Muslims. Communal clashes took place and one died.
Meanwhile, the centre and state government continued to blame the other. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of propagating violence and the BJP, in turn, accused her of appeasement.
BJP MLA Raja Singh even went so far to say that Hindus in Bengal should react as Hindus in Gujarat did at the time of communal riots in 2002.
He said, “Today, Hindus are not safe in the West Bengal state. Hindus in Bengal should respond to people involved in communal violence as Hindus in Gujarat did. Otherwise, soon Bengal will turn into Bangladesh.”
