'Pratibimba Live' journalists arrested for defaming Himanta Biswa Sarma, daughter

GUWAHATI: Taufiquddin Ahmad, the Editor-in-Chief of Assamese web portal 'Pratibimba Live' and news editor Iqbal have been arrested for allegedly maligning Assam Minister Himanta's Biswa Sarma's image by "spreading false rumours" about the Minister, police said.

Ahmad aired news on social media maligning the familial bond of a father and a daughter by posting a photograph. A case was registered against the Editor-in-chief and news editor- Case No 612/2021 under Section 509 IPC r/w sec 14/21 POCSO Act.

According to reports, the news organization aired a video about Himanta Biswa Sarma cozying up to a girl, who was later confirmed to be his own daughter, Sukanya.

Although the group later released another video on Facebook issuing a clarification, its rumour mongering video had already gone viral, causing irreparable damage.

Surprisingly, the portal -- which currently has 2.9 lakh subscribers on Facebook -- carried the same picture without any edits in its 'clarification', triggering massive outrage.

Himanta later clarified on Twitter that the little girl in the images is his own daughter after people questioned him about it.

 

 

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Early in the morning today, the Assam police officials began a crackdown against the perpetrators for circulating rumours on social media and several arrests have been made in this connection so far.

Confirming this development to Inside Northeast, Guwahati police commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta said, "We are still looking into the matter and investigating who made these rumours go viral on the social media. After a while, we will able to say exactly how many people are culpable. But yes, some arrests have already been made.

G P Singh, Assam's ADGP (Law and Order), has promised "resolute action against perpetrators and conspirators" on Twitter.

 

Lamenting the entire situation on Twitter, the senior police officer wrote, "As a man in public life and father of two daughters, I take strong exception to people maligning father-daughter bond. Society needs to wake up to such basal thought process amongst a section of people, perhaps for material gain."

This is a developing story.