Rashid Siddiqui (left) and Vibhor Anand at the Cyber Cell police station in Bandra

Mumbai: YouTuber Rashid Siddiqui, a final-year civil engineering student from Bihar who was booked for uploading videos defaming environment and tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray and home minister Anil Deshmukh in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death case, was granted anticipatory bail by the sessions court last week.

Siddiqui (25), who owns FF News YouTube channel, is the third person against whom police have taken legal action for carrying out a malicious campaign by uploading fake news stories on Rajput’s death case.

Earlier, police had arrested Nagpur’s Sameet Thakkar and Delhi-based advocate Vibhor Anand for posting defamatory tweets about Maharashtra ministers and spreading conspiracy theories.

Siddiqui was booked in August after Shiv Sena’s legal cell advocate Dharmendra Mishra lodged an FIR against unknown persons under Indian Penal Code sections for defamation, public mischief and intentional insult.

While granting him anticipatory bail, the court directed Siddiqui to cooperate with the investigation and report to cyber police once a week.

In a series of videos, Siddiqui had made derogatory claims about the Maharashtra ministers as well as some actors.

Siddiqui’s lawyer J P Jaiswal said, “Rashid is a YouTuber and whatever videos he had uploaded were not made by him. He is not an investigator nor has he aired his own opinions. He has put question marks in all his videos and the information has been collected from various sources.”

Police investigations have suggested Siddiqui earned Rs 6.5 lakh by spreading fake news on social media in four months. “I have all the records with me. He earned a total revenue of Rs 15 lakh through subscription and advertisements from YouTube in three years,” said Jaiswal.

Rajput committed suicide in his Bandra flat on June 14.

Rashid Siddiqui (left) and Vibhor Anand at the Cyber Cell police station in Bandra

A Youtuber from Bihar accused of running malicious campaigns by publishing fake stories over actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death allegedly earned over Rs 15 lakh in four months from his content, investigations have revealed. Accused, Rashid Siddiqui, 25, is a civil engineer from Bihar. Advocate Dharmendra Mishra of the Shiv Sena's legal cell had filed a case against Siddiqui, who owns the channel 'FF News'.

The police have filed a case on charges of defamation, public mischief and intentional insult. The court has granted Siddiqui anticipatory bail and asked him to cooperate in the probe. His posts against Mumbai police, Maharashtra government, minister Aaditya Thackeray and actor Akshay Kumar were viewed by lakhs of netizens. Kumar served a Rs 500-crore defamation notice to Siddiqui on Tuesday.

According to police, after Siddiqui's initial posts on Rajput's death were widely viewed, he posted more such content and earned Rs. 6.5 lakh in September.

The cyber police had earlier held Delhi-based advocate Vibhor Anand for posting videos related to Rajput's death and verbally abusing the chief minister and Aaditya. The content got Anand thousands of subscribers while Siddiqui, who had 2 lakh subscribers before Rajput's death, now has over 3.70 lakh.

"The actor's death was used as an opportunity to earn money as people were curious about the case. Once the media started reporting different theories, YouTubers too grabbed the opportunity and started posting fake content. They maligned Mumbai police's image and earned money during the lockdown," a senior IPS officer said.

With regards to Kumar, Siddiqui had made claims like the actor being unhappy about Rajput having bagged the film M S Dhoni - The Untold Story, having secret meetings with the Mumbai police and Aaditya regarding his death, and having helped Rhea Chakraborty escape to Canada.

Yasir Shaikh, founder of Macksofy Technologies Pvt Ltd, told mid-day, "YouTube income is generated by advertisements through AdSense, sponsorships with popular brands, and affiliate links. Some times content creators produce material based on trends and try to make it viral without verifying the information. This spreads fake news. Also, it becomes very difficult for law enforcement officials to block videos immediately as they become viral and Google also starts making profits due to the ads."

. April: $96 (Rs 7,120)

. May: $04 (Rs 296)

. June: $515 (Rs 38,200)

. July: $3,667 (Rs 2,75,005)

. August: $7,518 (Rs 5,57,658)

. September: $8,775 (Rs 6,50,898)

. October: $3,211 (Rs 2,38,180)

. November: $484 (Rs 35,901)

A sessions court on Monday granted bail to Delhi-based lawyer Vibhor Anand, arrested last month by Mumbai Police for allegedly spreading conspiracy theories in connection with the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and talent manager Disha Salian. Also on Monday, a Mumbai Police team arrested a man from Nagpur who allegedly made derogatory remarks about Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya.

Anand was arrested on October 15. Three days later a magistrate court remanded him in judicial custody. He had sought bail arguing that his custody was no longer required, but the court rejected his plea on October 23, after which he moved the sessions court. However, while granting him bail on Monday, the court stayed its order until November 6 for the prosecution to file an appeal.

Advocate Ashok Saraogi submitted that in order to keep himself up-to-date, Anand had been watching various TV channels, including one where the anchor had said that Rajput had been murdered only because Salian had been murdered, and that there was a party at her house a day before she died by suicide. The plea stated that Anand was “made to believe” that the statements on news channels were true.

The plea claimed that after Anand realised that his tweets could create controversy, he withdrew them, and that he had no intention to defame anyone or cause any offence.

The defence made further submissions claiming that though his client was a practising advocate, he had been mentally disturbed during the past few months, due to chronic alcohol abuse. He also submitted that Anand was being treated for another condition at a hospital.

Mirror had reported on October 17 that Anand was arrested after an FIR was registered in August after he uploaded social media posts in which he allegedly made defamatory statements against senior Maharashtra Cabinet ministers, linking them to the two cases.

A police team meanwhile arrested Sameet Thakkar, who allegedly made objectionable comments about the CM, his son, and a Congress minister, from Nagpur.

The team picked Thakkar up after he was released on bail in a case registered in Nagpur. He is being brought to the city.

In July, a case of obscenity and defamation was registered against Mumbai-based Thakkar. According to the FIR, Thakkar on July 1 sent tweets referring to Aaditya as ‘Mohammad Azam Shah of Maharashtra’ and ‘baby penguin’ and his father as a ‘modernday Aurangzeb’. In another tweet, he allegedly used abusive language against the Congress’ Nitin Raut.

Mumbai: Mumbai cyber police have arrested a Delhi-based lawyer for posting videos in which he propounded the theory that celebrity manager Disha Salian (28) was murdered by a few celebrities and a politician from Maharashtra, report V Narayan and S Ahmed Ali. Salian was celebrity manager to late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The arrest is the latest instance of a pushback against the rising tide of fake news and toxic messaging on social media platforms.

A police probe showed Salian died by suicide on June 9 in a Malad highrise where her fiancé resided. Suspect Vibhor Anand, 31, who continued to post defamatory content despite warnings from a city court, was picked up from his Delhi home and brought to Mumbai late Thursday night.

Held for defamatory posts, lawyer says he was expressing his views

The Esplanade Court, where Vibhor was produced on Friday, sent him to police custody till October 19 after he was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 504 (insult), 505 (2) (mischief), 509 (insult the modesty of a woman) and under the IT Act section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material).

Vibhor’s Twitter account @vibhor_anand was blocked and suspended in September, said DCP (crime) Akbar Pathan. He shifted to another handle. Hours before his arrest, Vibhor tweeted from @OfficeofVA, “Mumbai Police Cyber Crime team is in Delhi to meet me. Today is 15th October. So, Mumbai Police is finally here to Arrest me… See you soon @CPMumbaiPolice”.

His lawyer Hitesh Patel said, “The FIR is politically motivated, my client has just expressed his views.”

At least 14 others who posted similar content, including photos and videos through Twitter, have been shown as wanted in the case. The complaint which led to the arrest was filed by a 27-year-old Mumbai-based lawyer on August 12. She came across the content with links to videos that were tweeted, attacking wellknown figures, police and Maharashtra government.

Vibhor allegedly continued circulating such content despite Bombay Civil Court in September directing him and the others to immediately take down the defamatory posts. The order came on a suit by an actor-producer (whose name was dragged into the Salian case). Despite the order, Vibhor kept naming the actor.

Cyber police had similarly arrested on September 28 a physical trainer from Faridabad, Pradeep Choudhary alias Saahil (33), for posting conspiracy theories based on a probe he claims to have carried out on the deaths of late actor Sushant Singh and his ex-celebrity manager Salian. Choudhary was tracked down through the internet protocol address used to upload the offensive content on YouTube. The case was registered on August 22.

In recent months, cyber police has mounted a pushback against the torrent of hate speech, fake news and denigrating messages about public figures on social media. Traction for toxic messaging and conspiracy theories in the wake of Sushant Singh’s suicide has led to more monitoring of social media. Some YouTube channels on the incident have drawn millions of views.

As reported by TOI on September 28, cyber police in Maharashtra blocked at least 4,617 posts on platforms including WhatsApp and Facebook since fake news began flooding the net in the wake of the lockdown announced in Marchend. In all, 644 cases have been filed across 44 stations.

Cyber lawyer, Dr Prashant Mali said the IT Act 2000 should be amended with immediate effect and should include a section that will explicitly deal with fake news. “At present, there is no specific section that sternly deals with the rising cases of fake news combined with offensive videos and content uploaded to create communal tension or spread hate,” he said.

TIMES VIEW: Content on social media, in the absence of checks and balances, can be extremely toxic. The divisive effect of fake news purveyed on various platforms is being increasingly felt as internet and mobile footprints grow. Used to fan rumours and spread communal hatred, such activity has even led to lynchings and riots. There is a need to monitor social media and ensure awareness of laws concerning defamation and free speech.

---------------------

Mumbai Police’s Cyber Cell has arrested a Delhi-based advocate for spreading conspiracy theories in connection with the deaths of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and talent manager Disha Salian.

An FIR was registered in August after Vibhor Anand posted social media content in which he allegedly made defamatory statements against senior Maharashtra Cabinet ministers, linking them to the two cases.

The Enforcement Directorate had on Wednesday searched the premises of a film producer in connection with its money-laundering investigation into the death by suicide of Rajput in Mumbai on June 14. “Vibhor Anand was picked up from his residence in Delhi on Thursday and was brought to the city. He was produced in court and has been sent to police custody till October 19,” said a police officer.

The complainant in the case said, “I came across 15 Twitter handles, including that of Anand, that were constantly abusing the CM and the Cabinet ministers. The accused made false allegations by posting offensive and abusive comments on social media. The allegations made by them are that Maharashtra Cabinet minister were involved in the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian’s death.”

“The accused have been creating the story for the purpose of public disorder… and to promote the feeling of enmity and hatred against the current government. He even used abusive words against Mumbai police,” he added.