20-yr-old held for forwarding hate SMS

[GR!FF!N]

good job..hoax and morphed pics are the reason of increasing tension between those communities..and our notorious neighbour took the opportunity to distribute fake/morphed pics of riot..its the best step GOI is taking by banning those sites and imposing restriction on sms.but my sms balance is going to be wasted..

 

[Bhairava]

Actually, most people who write trash on this forum (from India), both against fellow Indians & also against Indian historical figures (not criticise but write absolute rubbish) are already in violation of more than a few laws. If there is an incident like the present, quite a few may be subjected to a hard realisation that the internet offers no protection whatsoever. Some of the acts makes it a non-bailable offense especially in Maharashtra (funnily, applicable to all Indian citizens; still puzzling over that). The chap forwarding the SMS's & MMS's just happens to be at the receiving end of just this type of an act, one not used during normal circumstances.

Comparing what is written in this fora to circulating mass SMS among locals who know each other and can immediately spring into action are two different things. Think about it.

I dont even know who you are, what is your name, where you are from or anything. If I read what you write, the most I will do is reply back and that is it. It will be forgotten. But not in the case of SMS. There the people know each other, they are from the same neighbourhood and if a dozen can join then it becomes a law and order problem soon. And Coimbatore is a bit polarized city and things can rapidly degenerate. The cause for the 98 riots was a simple stabbing of a Hindu policeman by 4 drunk youth.

other indian terrorist organizations are sending funds and other equipment's to assam to equip the locals to fight each other

Helo coconut, if sending cloths and other essential utilities to people in relief camps is 'inciting them to fight against each other', then what it is ? This razakar pig is guilty of the same thing and much more.

 

[INDIC]

Indian authorities are very swift in taking action against a particular minority-
Mere age of 20 is nothing infront of him being a muslim-
Kids of this age should be given a chance-
Shame on the fcukin majority-

Because he is above 18 years and not a child anymore.

 

[zynga]

20 year old is a kid...

i mean everything happens in reverse..
eg they write from right to left.. 11 or even 9 year old is major, but 20 year old is young boy.

 

[Bang Galore]

No, I dont care about him. He does not matter. I had to write that for two Indians who seemed to agree with him.

If that was a reference to me, don't bother. I am reasonably well aware of the actual legal position. Not that the reason for having one's head screwed on straight should only be the theoretical long hand of the law. There have been plenty of comments here in the last few days about Indian Muslims & some of them border on the lunatic. Almost all such commentators are in the breach of the law, even if that seems like a world away at this point. Whether that law has any likelihood of being enforced in such cases is besides the point. I bet the guy arrested didn't think that the act of forwarding SMS's could land him in police custody. Most don't.

 

[zynga]

why does a terrorist org like rss need to protect others? then wats the role of police, by the way they r not only so called protecting them they r also providing them with other equipment to create more mischief in assam.




even a pencil in the hand of a killer can be deadly.....RSS has more communal criminal cases against them then any other group.

then the indian govt comes to there rescue to drop the charge sheet against the RSS(TERRORIST IN SHORTS).

only for u rss is like that.. rss is a great and peaceful org.

 

[Bhairava]

If that was a reference to me, don't bother. I am reasonably well aware of the actual legal position. Not that the reason for having one's head screwed on straight should only be the theoretical long hand of the law. There have been plenty of comments here in the last few days about Indian Muslims & some of them border on the lunatic. Almost all such commentators are in the breach of the law, even if that seems like a world away at this point. Whether that law has any likelihood of being enforced in such cases is besides the point. I bet the guy arrested didn't think that the act of forwarding SMS's could land him in police custody. Most don't.

I am not talking about theoretical floutations of law. But the practical aspects of it. Both are wrong as per law. No one disputed that. But while what is written in an anonymous fora has a much much less chance of degenerating into anything other than personal attacks between the two guys, mass SMS among localites who are mostly semi-literate or illiterate and who have plenty time in their hands can very soon become law and order problems.

 

[Bang Galore]

Comparing what is written in this fora to circulating mass SMS among locals who know each other and can immediately spring into action are two different things. Think about it.

I dont even know who you are, what is your name, where you are from or anything. If I read what you write, the most I will do is reply back and that is it. It will be forgotten. But not in the case of SMS. There the people know each other, they are from the same neighbourhood and if a dozen can join then it becomes a law and order problem soon. And Coimbatore is a bit polarized city and things can rapidly degenerate. The cause for the 98 riots was a simple stabbing of a Hindu policemen by 4 drunk youth.

Does not matter, I was just pointing out the law that exists in response to a comment from Developereo that the law was being unfairly enforced. The law exists, arguing whether this forum has less impact or otherwise is pointless. I don't subscribe at all to the reasoning of the law, actually think it is stupid but regardless of that, the law is present.

 

[Developereo]

Actually, most people who write trash on this forum (from India), both against fellow Indians & also against Indian historical figures (not criticise but write absolute rubbish) are already in violation of more than a few laws. If there is an incident like the present, quite a few may be subjected to a hard realisation that the internet offers no protection whatsoever. Some of the acts makes it a non-bailable offense especially in Maharashtra (funnily, applicable to all Indian citizens; still puzzling over that). The chap forwarding the SMS's & MMS's just happens to be at the receiving end of just this type of an act, one not used during normal circumstances.

Since the servers are located in the US (I think), there should be no problem getting legal authority to track down posters.

Wrong analogy.

Unlike the members of Def.pk who have access to internet, who are here mostly to discuss issues ,each coming from some remote corner of India without knowing where the other is from and 99.9% of Indians not knowing what def.pk is, mass SMS circulated among locals and that too Al-Ameen colony in Kottaimedu being a Muslim neighbourhood of primarily mechanics, welders, iron scrap material dealers have the potential to immediately break out into law and order problems which can degenerate into communal riots.

You are trying to suggest that broadcasting hate speech (or incitement to communal violence) is different from specifically sending it to known individuals. I don't think such a defence would hold, else hate speech in newspapers and blogs could claim this immunity.

Also, most people don't realize how easy it is for law enforcement to pierce so-called anonymity on the internet.

 

[Bhairava]

Does not matter, I was just pointing out the law that exists in response to a comment from Developereo that the law was being unfairly enforced. The law exists, arguing whether this forum has less impact or otherwise is pointless. I don't subscribe at all to the reasoning of the law, actually think it is stupid but regardless of that, the law is present.

Again I did not say the Law does not exist. But I would differ on your point that the comparitive study on their impact is irrelevant. That is THE most important point and that is how the police act, knowing a bit about how they act in the first place.

 

[neutral_person]

This is a very grey line, which borders on freedom of speech, to censor and punish people for sending SMS.

According to Indian Law though, this arrest is 100% accurate, because sending messages that have hate speech or sent with the intent to cause violence/riots is punishable by Indian Law. We can definitely question the validity of the law, or whether the law makes sense or not, but according to the current law the arrest makes sense.

To people arguing that only Muslims get arrested for this but Hindus don't, I can dig up numerous news cases of Hindus being arrested for hate speech (its nto so hard to use Google).

Here is one from a Pakistani news source itself:
BJP leader arrested for anti-Christian hate speech | Latest news, Breaking news, Pakistan News, World news, business, sport and multimedia | DAWN.COM

 

[Bhairava]

You are trying to suggest that broadcasting hate speech is different from specifically targeting it to known individuals. .

Ofcourse they are different. Writing something here from Infy or HUL or TCS or IOC offices sitting in AC to audience who are from similar positions, who dont know each other and who are from different corners of the country and who most likely wont like to 'get their hands dirty' is entirely different from spreading messages on the ground to audience who are mostly semi-literate and are from the bottom strata who get carried away easily.

If I write something here, I just write. I dont even know who reads it, who accepts it or who rejects it. The message is lost as an when others post. But these SMS are not like that. They are to a very specific audience who know each other beforehand and who agree with each other idealogically.

 

[Vinod2070]

Ofcourse they are different.

It is like the difference between someone just declaring Shia or other sects as wajib-ul-qatl in general.

Vs. someone actually telling it to people who have been brainwashed previously to do it to ensure rewards in the hereafter.

Jameen aasman ke farak hai.

People can hate, it is not illegal. Hate violence is illegal.

 

[Developereo]

Ofcourse they are different. Writing something here from Infy or HUL or TCS or IOC offices sitting in AC to audience who are from similar positions, who dont know each other and who are from different corners of the country and who most likely wont like to 'get their hands dirty' is entirely different from spreading messages on the ground to audience who are mostly semi-literate and are from the bottom strata who get carried away easily.

If I write something here, I just write. I dont even know who reads it, who accepts it or who rejects it. The message is lost as an when others post. But these SMS are not like that. They are to a very specific audience who know each other beforehand and who agree with each other idealogically.

I agree that writing here is not the same as sending an SMS to a known person. However, it _is_ comparable to writing a blog, or posting on facebook or twitter. Do you know how many thousands of times google, facebook and twitter comply with law enforcement in the US?

 

[Bang Galore]

Again I did not say the Law does not exist. But I would differ on your point that the comparitive study on their impact is irrelevant. That is THE most important point and that is how the police act, knowing a bit about how they act in the first place.

Frankly that defence wouldn't fly & while this is theoretical, there is a law specifically targeting "anonymous" posters on internet forums. The law has been sparingly used but has been enforced a few times. Anyone caught on the wrong side of this law is undoubtedly unlucky but it can happen. There are any number of ways that this can happen including by action from the judiciary either independently or in response to a complaint. A copy of abusive posts might & can be a trigger. More serious stuff happens in the passing of sms's & mms's than what this man now in custody did. This chap was unlucky to be in a position where the police are under pressure to produce results. The chap did break the law and probably had no idea of the impact of his actions(actually nobody could have predicted that extreme panic) but he is still technically in breach. His offense, in normal circumstances, would not have warranted a second look but in the present situation, he is quite clearly one of the culprits. The same with the internet forums. The law is clear, you are responsible for whatever you post, just like you would be responsible if you wrote in a newspaper, pamphlet or mouthed your thoughts in a video/tv. The law could not be clearer, ignorance of the same cannot be used as an excuse.