A case was registered on Tuesday here against senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for allegedly promoting religious enmity after he tweeted a picture of a mosque in another state while commenting on communal violence at Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. In a tweet on Monday morning, Singh posted a picture showing some youths hoisting a saffron flag at a mosque, and referred to the violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession at Khargone. He deleted the tweet later. A case was registered by the Crime Branch police station based on a complaint about the tweet, Bhopal police commissioner Makrand Deuskar told media. The case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 465 (forgery) and 505 (2) (public mischief), the commissioner added. Complainant Prakash Mande, a resident of Bhopal, accused the Congress Rajya Sabha member of sharing a fabricated picture and linking it to the Khargone violence.
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The tweet might have spread communal tension and affected the religious harmony in Madhya Pradesh, the complaint alleged. “Is it appropriate to put up a flag at a religious place while holding swords and sticks? Did the Khargone administration allow a procession carrying weapons? Will bulldozers run over the homes of all those who throw stones, irrespective of religion? Don't forget Shivraj ji, you have taken an oath to run the government in a fair manner,” Digvijaya Singh's tweet with the picture read. BJP leaders including Bhopal (Huzur) MLA Rameshwar Sharma questioned the link of the picture to incidents in Khargone, and some social media users claimed the picture was of a mosque at Muzaffarpur in Bihar. After Singh deleted the post, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took to Twitter, saying that Digvijaya Singh had tweeted a photo of youths hoisting saffron flag at a religious place which was not from Madhya Pradesh. The tweet is a conspiracy to spread religious frenzy in the state and push the state into the fire of riots which will not be tolerated, Chouhan said.
MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra alleged that Singh "wants to fuel communal tension by spreading confusion" and the government will take legal opinion about what action can be taken.
Curfew was clamped in Khargone city on Sunday evening after stone-pelting during a Ram Navami procession triggered arson.
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