A Mumbai resident has filed a police complaint seeking action against journalist Rana Ayyub for posting an "old" video of the Delhi violence, an official said on Wednesday, 26 February.
A 45-second video clip posted by Ayyub shows some men attempting to place a saffron flag and the National tricolour on the minaret of a mosque.
Owing to its inflammatory content, The Quint has decided to not share the video.
However, The Quint has been able to independently confirm the validity of the video shared by Ayyub. Photos clicked by our reporters on Wednesday, 26 February, show the saffron flag with a picture of the Hindu deity Hanuman and “Jai Shri Ram” written on it, on the minaret of the mosque.
The mosque, called Badi Masjid, is located inside Gali Number 5 of Ashok Nagar, where the incident occurred. According to eyewitnesses and those living near the mosque, houses of locals were looted as well.
Speaking to The Quint, a 24-year-old resident of the area, Danish, said that the mosque was vandalised around 2:30 pm on Tuesday, 25 February.
On 29 February, Ayyub tweeted a news report about the complaint against her, saying “cowards can only intimidate.”
The complainant Ramesh Solanki claimed the video was two years old, and it was posted by Ayyub "with an intention to spread hatred in the society and to add more fuel to the Delhi violence".
In his complaint, which he filed online on Tuesday, 25 February, Solanki (50) also uploaded a photo of Rana's tweet and the twitter handle "@ranaayyub".
"Please take action against this hate-monger Rana Ayyub. The video shared by Rana Ayyub is two years old and she is sharing it again in this situation trying to spread hatred in the society and to incite people and add more fuel to the Delhi violence. Rana is regular at posting false rumours and defame India and Government of India; it's very necessary to take action against her before she is successful in creating communal disharmony in the country, arrest her and take legal action against her (sic)," stated the complaint.
A senior Mumbai Cyber Crime official said they will first verify facts before deciding to take any action, if needed. "If needed, we will transfer the complaint to police station concerned for further investigation," he said.
Ayyub had shared the video and deleted it amid confusion over its authenticity and exact location. She had then posted it again.
"Re-posting this video after verifying its authenticity. It is from Delhi. Men marching on top of a mosque, vandalising it and placing a saffron flag over it," Ayyub had tweeted.
At least 42 people have died so far and hundreds injured in violence that has gripped several parts of northeast Delhi since Sunday, 23 February.
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