Facing UAPA charges by Tripura govt, social media users claim ‘booked for raising critical questions’

After Tripura Police booked 102 social media handles for allegedly posting content to disturb communal harmony, many of these users — charged with forgery, criminal conspiracy and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — claimed they have been booked for raising “critical questions”.

The Editors Guild of India also flayed the move of the state government.

Tripura Police had booked four Delhi-based lawyers under the UAPA last week, after they visited the state and held a press conference alleging that minorities were attacked in different parts of Tripura in the aftermath of religious vandalism in Bangladesh. Alleging “one-to-one correlation” between these statements and the rise of communal propaganda on social media, police later booked 102 social media users under the same charges.