A complaint has been filed against BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma with the Kolkata Police for using an evocative image to falsely depict the violence in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, when in actuality the photo was from the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Two complaints were filed against Sharma in Kolkata, reported India Today. The first was filed by a Trinamool Congress worker in Regent Park, and the second was filed at the Garihat Police Station, where she was booked under the non-bailable section.
Sharma had created quite a storm on Twitter after she shared the photo to call people for a protest in Jantar Mantar against the recent communal violence in the Basirhat area of West Bengal.
Below is the tweet Sharma posted on Saturday, where she urged people to protest against the “falling value of human life”. She even used the hashtag #SaveHindus, giving the post a communal tone. The tweet which has been retweeted 2,044 times hasn’t been taken down despite people having pointed out that the image was from Gujarat riots.
In fact, Sharma gave a weak defence saying that the flyer used was not hers.
According to India Today, Sharma has been booked under five sections of the IPC- 153A, 295A, 471, 465 and 505.
This is not the first time that a BJP leader has attempted to use a misleading image to convey a point. In fact, Piyush Goyal’s coal ministry falsely used Amnesty International’s photo to boast of their achievements.
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