Centre directs social media platforms to remove content justifying Udaipur killing

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday directed the social media platforms to remove content glorifying the brutal Udaipur beheading incident.

A notice issued by the MeitY said "social media platforms need to remove content which encourages, glorifies or justifies brutal murder in Udaipur, in order to prevent "any incitement and disruption of public order and to restore public peace and harmony".

The ministry said that apart from the videos of the murder that were uploaded online, several instances have come to its notice where social media handles glorified or justified the killing. The MeitY said social media companies should remove such content as part of their obligation of being intermediaries.

The notice, which was sent on Wednesday, was made public on Friday.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Facebook and Instagram parent Meta said, "We have designated the incident as violating and are removing any content associated with it as per our community standards.

The MeitY's notice comes days after Kanhaiya Lal, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, was killed on Tuesday by two cleaver-wielding men, Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, for allegedly sharing remarks made by BJP's Nupur Sharma on the Prophet.

The two uploaded a video of the murder online and in a separate video boasted about the "beheading" — and issued death threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sharma.

The police later nabbed the two culprits and the case was handed over to the NIA.

Meanwhile, in a major reshuffle over the alleged negligence by police in the Kanhaiya Lal murder case, the Rajasthan government has removed the Superintendent of Police (SP) and Inspector General (IG) range of Udaipur. Prafulla Kumar, who is heading the SIT set up to investigate the murder, has been made the new IG.