Nagpur violence Fadnavis calls for better tracking of social media posts

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis admitted that there was a mistake on the part of police to track down what is going on in nagpur. On Friday he said that if social media posts have been tracked more effectively on the day of Nagpur violence then it would have helped the police figure out what was being planned.

He, however, denied that there was any intelligence failure. The police response was apt and it cannot be said that it was inadequate, he said.

“Some social media posts had content in Bengali, which is also spoken in Bangladesh. It needs to be ascertained whether this is part of a larger design,” the CM said at an ABP Majha event.

He said social media should have been tracked in the afternoon (the day when the violence erupted). It was not done the way it should have been, said the chief minister, who belongs to Nagpur and heads the home department.

Large-scale stone pelting and arson was reported in several parts of Nagpur on Monday evening over rumours that a ‘chadar’ with holy inscriptions was burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) seeking the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb, which is in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
Messages were sent through social media asking people to gather, said Fadnavis, adding that these individuals are being arrested.

“We have the capability but the habit (of tracking social media posts) needs to be inculcated. Had social media been tracked well that afternoon, we would have come to know (what was being planned),” he said.

During the violence, the problem was not on main roads but narrow lanes, he said.

“Police showed the courage to venture into these lanes and face the situation. That’s why the situation did not become bigger,” Fadnavis said, defending the police.

Police had said earlier that they had identified and reported more than 140 objectionable contents, including posts and videos, across social media platforms, aimed at inciting communal unrest concerning the Nagpur violence.

Thirty-three police personnel including three Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officers were injured during the violence in Nagpur on Monday.

A court in Nagpur has remanded 17 accused in the case in police custody till March 22. Police have booked Fahim Khan, key accused in the violence, and five others on charges of sedition and spreading misinformation on social media.

Asked about which Thackeray – Uddhav or Raj – is closest to him, Fadnavis said, “In the last five years, I had no ties with Uddhav ji and I have been in touch with Raj. There is no fight (with Uddhav). If we come across each other, we talk but there are no ties left.”

He said the ruling Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, will contest local body polls, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, together.

“There could be one or the other civic body where an alliance might not work out. But the overall resolve is to contest together,” he added.