UP: Journalist arrested for posting objectionable content from SP's Twitter account; Party denies links

The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a YouTuber for allegedly posting objectionable tweets from the Twitter handle of the Samajwadi Party's media cell, officials said on Sunday.

SP leaders, however, said the arrested man does not have any links with the party.

On November 23, journalist Manish Pandey registered a complaint at Hazratganj police station against an unidentified person running the SP media cell Twitter handle (@MediaCellSP), police said.

The complainant alleged that the SP media cell posted a tweet about the Gorakhnath mutt and he replied that it should refrain from making such posts as the mutt is the centre of devotion for crores of people, they said.

After this, the complainant said, "insulting and humiliating" tweets were posted from the Twitter handle against him.

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In a tweet on November 20, the SP media cell had alleged that people from the mutt were involved in illegal mining. The tweet, however, did not name any mutt.

Additional Commissioner of Police, Hazratganj, Arvind Kumar Verma told PTI that prima facie Anil Yadav posted the tweets from the Twitter handle of the SP media cell.

A detailed probe into the matter is underway, he said.

Yadav, who runs a YouTube channel, was arrested on Friday, the police said.

An FIR was registered under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 504 (intentional insult), 505 (publishing or circulating any statement, rumour or report with intent to incite) and 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the IT Act, the police said.

When contacted, SP leaders said Yadav is not connected to the party in any way.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, the SP media cell said, "Journalist Anil Yadav was exposing atrocities and injustice being faced by people under the BJP government through his YouTube channel." Angered by this, the BJP government got him arrested "unconstitutionally", it charged.

"Anil Yadav should be immediately released and sent back home with honour," the SP media cell said.

The BJP government is "strangulating democracy and dishonouring the Constitution", it said.