By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 7 Jan: Following the registration of an FIR at Dalanwala police station by the complaint of BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam, the Dehradun Police have begun the process of collecting digital evidence in connection with controversial social media posts related to the Ankita Bhandari murder case. People, organisations and political parties that had shared posts linked to Ankita Bhandari, including those uploaded by Urmila Sanawar and others, and made contentious or objectionable comments on alleged role of Gautam in the content posted by them have been brought under the ambit of the investigation. This is apart from the direction of Delhi High Court today ordering all concerned to remove the content posted by them on social media, allegedly linking Gautam to the Ankita Bhandari murder case.
It may recalled that Gautam has not only filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court, seeking damages from Suresh Rathore and Urmila Sanawar and parties like the Congress and AAP besides certain other persons for defaming him, but has also registered an FIR with Uttarakhand Police in Dehradun against these people and organisations. In the FIR, Gautam has alleged that a conspiracy was hatched through controversial posts circulated on various social media platforms in the name of Ankita Bhandari with the intent of inciting communal unrest in Uttarakhand and defaming the Bharatiya Janata Party. Acting on these allegations, the police have initiated a detailed probe and commenced the collection of digital evidence to ascertain the veracity of the claims.
According to the police, priority is being given to examining the role of social media users who shared posts related to Ankita Bhandari, including those attributed to Urmila and others and subsequently posted controversial comments. The investigation is likely to focus on determining the intent behind such posts and comments and whether they were aimed at disturbing public order or maligning the image of a particular political party or individual.
Senior police officers have directed the investigating teams to collect concrete and credible evidence to substantiate the allegations levelled by Dushyant Gautam. The instructions emphasise a thorough examination of any attempt to disturb peace and law & order or to damage the reputation of any party or individual through social media activity.
Sources in the Police today claimed that the investigating officer at the preliminary stage is scrutinising all the relevant social media handles and posts linked to the case. The police are primarily concentrating on securing and preserving digital evidence that has a direct bearing on the allegations recorded in the FIR. According to sources, after the completion of the digital evidence collection process, the police may issue notices to the individuals for questioning as part of the ongoing investigation. However, the police have conceded that they have to hurry in the collection of evidence since the likelihood of the removal of the relevant content from social media is expected soon in the wake of the orders of the Delhi High Court.
