CHANDIGARH: Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri and Congress MLA Rakesh Kalia received indirect death threats via social media, and the police have launched an investigation after a case was registered at Haroli Police Station late on June 19.
As per the police, a social media user shared a post on Facebook on the arrest of gangster Amrish Rana. Sources said that on June 19, a user commented, “The public is demanding swords again.”
In response, another user wrote, “This time, it will be used on a politician.” Then another user asked, “For what crime?” To this, the second user replied, “Only the Deputy CM and MLA Rakesh Kalia know.”
Alarmed by the exchange, Arun Kumar reported the incident to the police.
Followingly, which the case was registered. Deputy CM Agnihotri is an MLA from Haroli assembly segment and Kalia is a legislator from Gagret constituency, hailing from Una district.
The police are probing whether those who issued the threat have any connection with gangster Rana, and efforts are on to ascertain their IP addresses to know their location.
Rana was released from jail a few months ago after serving a 25-year sentence, but soon after his release, Rana was involved in an illegal mining case, which led to his re-arrest.
Sources claimed that these indirect threats appear to be directly connected to social media reactions over Rana’s arrest.
The use of terms like 'sharpshooter' and reference to sharp-edged weapons has alarmed authorities, as such gangster-style threats are unprecedented in Himachal Pradesh.