NEW DELHI: The Peace and Harmony Committee headed by Raghav Chadha has decided to call upon some witnesses on August 31 to further determine the veracity of the allegations against social media giant Facebook.
The step comes consequent to the information which has come to light in the previous proceedings of the committee as well as careful deliberation of the material on record. The list includes Awesh Tiwari, state bureau chief of Swaraj Express, Chhattisgarh who has lodged an FIR against Ankhi Das (Senior official of Facebook) and two other individuals alleging offences of the likes of creating enmity between different groups and criminal defamation; Kunal Purohit - an independent journalist who has allegedly brought to light new pieces of evidence which point towards the alleged biasedness of Facebook towards the current ruling dispensation.
Prabir Purkayastha- editor- NewsClick; Subhash Gatade, an independent Journalist; and Kiruba Munusamy - advocate and a social, political and judicial activist are also in the list.
According to the committee, the complainants have made scathing allegations of biasedness and deliberate inaction on the part of Facebook.
It was alleged that the manner in which Facebook has behaved it invites the ingredients of Section. 153A, 295A, 505 of the IPC.
It had been alleged in the complaints that Facebook, despite its policies and regulations on curbing unabated dissemination of hateful and offensive content, in place, has been turning a blind eye to mass manufacturing and propagation of hateful communal content which have potential to erupt violence and riot-like situations.