Twitter India No video call: UP Police reject Twitter India head's offer to appear virtually
New Delhi/IBNS: The Uttar Pradesh police have summoned Twitter India Managing Director Manish Maheshwari for quizzing on Thursday in connection with tweets on the assault of an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad.
Maheshwari had made himself available on the video call.
However, the UP Police rejected the request for appearance via video call.
The police have also asked Twitter India's Resident Grievance Officer Dharmendra Chatur to report to them on the same day.
According to the police's notice, these two officers were responsible for the activities on the microblogging platform.
"You couldn't remove certain tweets even after you were asked to by authorities. You understand Indian laws and are bound to follow them," the notice said.
A case was filed last week against Twitter India, along with several journalists and Congress leaders, alleging that the tweets they had shared on the assault were "misleading" and aimed at "provoking communal sentiments".
As it was reported, an elderly Muslim man, named Abdul Samad, was allegedly assaulted by a group of young men, who also cut his beard and forced him to chant "Jay Shri Ram" and "Vande Mataram", while he was on his way to to a mosque to offer his prayers.
According to several media reports, one of the attackers, a young man in white full sleeve t-shirt and blue sweatpants, threatened the victim with a knife which he also used to chop off his beard.
Police had turned down any communal angle to the incident, stating the old man was attacked both by Muslim and Hindu men as they were upset over amulets they had purchased from him.
Senior police superintendent, Ghaziabad, Amit Pathak said Samad did not mention that he was forced to chant Jai Shree Ram or chop off his beard in the FIR registered on Jun 7.
The legal notice was served a day after it was learnt that Maheshwari was questioned by a team of Delhi Police in Bengaluru on May 31 over the "Congress toolkit".
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