Digvijay Singh faces criminal charge for IS' online booby trap claim
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Indian police have filed a criminal case against a politician who recently claimed that they had set up a bogus website to arrest Muslims influenced by Islamic State's ideology.
The police in India's southern Telangana state was charged with making statement causing feelings of enmity and hatred, the Jubilee Hills of Hyderabad said on Thursday.
On May 1, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh posted several tweets about the Telangana police setting up an online booby trap to arrest radicalised youth.
Singh had also attacked the head of the local government in Telangana, KT Rama Rao. He tweeted Rao should step down if he authorised the police to set the trap.
But the 70-year-old politician did not give further details to back his claims.
Singh's tweets sparked a row online, with both the Telangana police and Rao reacting sharply to the allegations.
Telangana chief minister Rao attacked Singh for making "irresponsible" and "reprehensible" comments, while the state police felt the Congress politician's tweets would "lower" their morale.
Following are the tweets posted by Singh:
I agree but what about the Telangana Police which is posting inflammatory postings to radicalise Muslim Youth through their fake ISIS site?
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 1, 2017
Is It Ethical ? Is it Moral ? Has KCR authorised Telangana Police to trap Muslim Youths and encourage them to join ISIS ?
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 1, 2017
If he has then shouldn't he own the responsibility and resign ?
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 1, 2017
And this is what chief minister Rao and the police had to say:
Most irresponsible & reprehensible thing coming from a former CM. Request you to withdraw these comments unconditionally or provide evidence https://t.co/cg7p7Ym48X
— KTR (@KTRTRS) May 1, 2017
@digvijaya_28 Sir, you have no right to lower the morale of hardworking police who've successfully lowered crime rate in Telangana last 3 yr
— KTR (@KTRTRS) May 1, 2017
The Indian government says about 100 Indian men and women have joined Islamic State since the civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.
Although the government believes that there are no active IS modules working in India, the police have arrested about 80 people who may have been radicalised by the Middle East-based jihadist organisation.
Incidentally, Congress' Digvijay Singh's tweets come a day after his party decided to replace him as the man in-charge of India's western state of Goa and election-bound Karnataka, a state in south India.
(WION)