UP police book journalist for social media post on mob lynching of Muslim man

In Yogi Adityanath’s UP, even reporting a lynching would be a crime, as the UP police have booked journalist Zakir Ali Tyagi for his social media posts alleging a mob lynching in Shamli district, accusing him of promoting enmity between different groups under section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The other individuals involved are Wasim Akram Tyagi, Asif Rana, Saif Allahbadi, and Ahmad Raza Khan, who have also been charged under section 196 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for promoting enmity between different groups and under section 353 for making statements conducive to public mischief.

The FIR registered against Zakir Ali Tyagi by the UP police is viewed as a deliberate attempt by the police and authorities to downplay the case of mob lynching in the state amid increased targeted attacks by a group of Hindu men against members of the Muslim community, many of which result in the killing of Muslim men.

What has caught Ali Tyagi in the case is his reporting of the death of Firoz, also known as Kala Qureshi, on social media, where he claimed that Qureshi was beaten to death by a group of men in Jalalabad town, Shamli district, quoting Qureshi’s family.

Qureshi’s family filed a complaint alleging he was beaten to death by a group of men, but instead of filing an FIR based on it, the police registered a murder case, invoking charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against unknown persons.

Shamli Superintendent of Police Abhishek confirmed the registration of an FIR against Zakir Ali Tyagi and the others at the Thana Bhawan police station. He claimed that Qureshi’s death was not a case of mob lynching but resulted from an altercation with a few men when he entered their home. The police conducted a post-mortem to investigate the cause of death further.

The FIR against Tyagi and his associates includes allegations that their social media posts falsely claimed Qureshi had died in a mob lynching incident, inciting communal hatred and anger among individuals of a particular community. The police contended that the posts were made with the intent to provoke communal hatred without regard for the actual circumstances.

The Shamli Police issued a statement denying the lynching allegations, accusing the journalists of attempting to incite communal tension. The incident has sparked a debate on the treatment of journalists in India, particularly those highlighting crimes against minorities.

Tyagi, a vocal journalist, has faced multiple legal challenges in the past. In 2017, he was arrested for Facebook posts critical of the then-newly appointed Chief Minister Adityanath, resulting in a 42-day jail stint under the Information Technology Act.

In August 2020, Tyagi was arrested again, this time on charges of cow slaughter, a serious crime in Uttar Pradesh that carries a ten-year prison sentence. Tyagi denied the accusations, asserting that they were part of a broader effort to silence his reporting, according to scroll.in.

His legal troubles continued in December 2022 when a court issued an externment order against him under the Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, barring him from entering his home district of Meerut for three months. The prosecution argued that his alleged involvement in the cow slaughter case posed a threat to the local law and order situation.

The recent FIR has intensified concerns about the freedom of the press in India, especially for journalists reporting on sensitive issues involving minority communities. Tyagi has been vocal about the challenges faced by journalists in the current political climate, asserting that the government is attempting to suppress voices that speak out against oppression.