There has been an attempt by some vested interests to make use of the recent security breach in the Parliament to besmirch their political rivals or a particular community.
Amid the spread of fake news and hatred on social media platforms, the Tamil Nadu police have booked a Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) functionary for allegedly spreading fake news about the December 13, 2023, Parliament security breach.
Targetting DMK MP
According to a report, Pravinraj, social media in-charge of the Tamil Nadu youth wing of BJP was booked by Trichy cyber crime police following a complaint by an advocate, Arokyadas.
Pravinraj allegedly spread fake news stating that DMK MP of Dharmapuri Dr Senthil Kumar distributed the passes to the miscreants who jumped inside the parliament.
Pravinraj, under the 'Sanghi Prince' X account, in a now-deleted post on X, wrote, "Security Breach happened in Lok Sabha. You know why? Because of irresponsible MPs like you were distributing "visitor passes" via social media for publicity and without background verification."
He also demanded the DMK MP take responsibility for the security breach.
He has been booked under sections 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505(1)(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or the public tranquillity) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66 (computer-related offences) of Information Technology (IT) Act. Police sources said Pravinraj is absconding.
Pravinraj was earlier arrested by the Karur police in October this year for making derogatory comments about Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
No, SFI member was not involved
Earlier, there was an attempt to make it appear that one of the co-accused in the case D Manoranjan was an activist of the Students' Federation of India (SFI). A photograph of the co-accused was circulated on social media claiming that an SFI member was involved in the Parliament security breach. According to a report, the photo of SFI Mysuru unit's TS Vijay Kumar was shared on social media identifying him as Manoranjan.
A Recap
On the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, there was a major security breach, when two people, later identified as Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened canisters that emitted yellow-coloured smoke.
Two other people also held a protest outside Parliament and released cans that emitted coloured gas. The duo were identified as Amol Shinde and Neelam. Six people till now have been arrested by the police.
Lalit Jha, believed to be the mastermind of the security breach incident, is also in police custody.