Manipur: FIR filed against Indian-origin UK resident for allegedly inciting communal hatred

Imphal, Jul 1: A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against an Indian-origin man, Uday Reddy, a Computer Science professor at the University of Birmingham in the UK, for allegedly inciting communities in ethnic violence-hit Manipur using social media platforms, officials said.

According to a police source, the FIR was filed on June 7 based on a complaint by a resident of Imphal.

According to the FIR, Reddy had been charged with "abatement, insulting religious sentiments, and promoting enmity between communities with common intention," which is punishable under Section 117/295 - A/ 153- A/ 34 IPC. The complainant informed, "the accused person deliberately with malicious intention insulted a community’s religious beliefs and promoted enmity between several communities on religious grounds,” adding that "the unlawful activities of the accused person and his associates amount to anti-national activities that challenge the integrity and sovereignty of India and are fit to be dealt with under the relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act."

The complainant also alleged Reddy of having links with "Khalistanis in Canada... and with narco-terrorist groups" and urged for an investigation.

The complainant also told the police that Reddy had been hosting audio discussions on social media directing people in Manipur on how to create trouble against law enforcement in the state.

Meanwhile, Reddy’s X profile showed that the account has been “withheld in India in response to a legal demand.”