Loni Elderly Man Assault Video Case: Ghaziabad Police Sends Notice to Twitter’s Ex-grievance officer

The notice was sent to Twitter's Ex-grievance officer Dharmendra Chatur after the police team has dispatched a couple of notices to Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari.

Noida: The Ghaziabad police have sent a third notice to Twitter India in connection with a case regarding a viral video of the attack on an elderly man in the district’s Loni area on June 5. However, this time, the police team has sent the notice to the microblogging site’s former grievance officer in India Dharmendra Chatur who quit his position within weeks after his appointment. The Ghaziabad police have sent a notice to Chatur under Section 41A of the CrPc, and asked him to appear before the police and record statements within a period of 7 days.

The notice was sent to Chatur after the police team has dispatched a couple of notices to Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari. Earlier last week, the Uttar Pradesh police has moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Karnataka High Court restraining it from taking coercive action against Twitter India head Manish Maheshwari regarding the probe related with the circulation of videos in which the 72-year-old man was assaulted.

On June 29, the Karnataka High Court adjourned to July 5, the proceedings in a matter pertaining to Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari and the Ghaziabad police, which had summoned him related to the case. Advocate P Prasanna Kumar, who appeared for the Uttar Pradesh police, sought adjournment following which the single bench of Justice G Narendar who is hearing the matter posted it for July 5.

Maheshwari, who lives in Bengaluru in Karnataka, was issued notice by the Ghaziabad Police earlier, asking him to report at its Loni Border police station on June 24 to get his statement recorded in the case, following which he moved the High Court here seeking relief.

The court had then restrained the Ghaziabad police from initiating any coercive action against him. Justice Narendar had also maintained if the police wanted to examine Maheswhari, they could do so through virtual mode. In the video clip, which surfaced on social media on June 14, the elderly Muslim man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, alleged he was thrashed by some young men and asked to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

The Ghaziabad Police had on June 15 lodged an FIR against Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India, a news website, several journalists and Congress’ Salman Nizami, Masqoor Usmani, Dr Sama Mohammad and writer Saba Naqvi for sharing the clip. The police, who had ruled out communal angle in the incident, claimed the video was shared to cause communal unrest.