New Delhi: Mumbai police have apparently identified more than 80,000 fake accounts that were created on various social media platforms after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput with the intention of ‘discrediting’ the city police and the Maharashtra government.
According to the Hindustan Times, the Mumbai police cyber unit has compiled a report saying that social media posts with hashtags like #justiceforsushant and #SSR were uploaded from countries like Italy, Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand , Romania and France.
Automated bots are regularly used to inflate the traffic surrounding hashtags, a practice meant to play with trending topics on Twitter. ‘Foreign’ accounts are regularly used in this practice, despite the social media giant insisting it has preventative measures to avoid coordinated campaigns.
“We identify foreign language posts due to hashtags used like #justiceforsushant #sushantsinghrajput and #SSR. We are in the process of verifying more accounts, ”a senior IPS official told the newspaper.
The report also says that Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh has asked the cyber cell to investigate the alleged bogus accounts and register the cases under the Information Technology Act.
“The campaign was carried out against the Mumbai police only to demoralize us at a time when 84 policemen had died due to the pandemic and more than 6,000 men were infected with the virus. This was a vested interest motivated campaign just to smear the image of the Mumbai police and derail our line of investigation, ”he said. HT.
He said that several fake social media accounts were created to attack the Mumbai police with “abusive tones”.
Mumbai police had begun investigating the case and ruled that the actor’s death was a suicide. Bihar police registered a case against the actor’s partner, Rhea Chakraborty, after members of the Rajput family accused her of murder and instigation of suicide. Many, including actor Kangana Ranaut, cast doubt on the Mumbai police’s ability to properly investigate the case.
It was in this context that a campaign began on social media, demanding justice for the Rajput. The Mumbai Police Cyber Cell report says automated bots or foreign accounts were used to fill in the hashtags.
The case was eventually taken up by the CBI, which is investigating the case.
Study Finds BJP Promoted Conspiracy Theories
A recent study by the University of Michigan found that members of the BJP played a role in expanding conspiracy theories related to the actor’s death. He analyzed social media trends, identifiers, patterns, and tweets from politicians, influencers, journalists, and the media between June 14 (the day Rajput died) and September 12, and found that the BJP members and pro-BJP mangos increased rumor mill, and were behind the trolls’ attacks on the Mumbai police, the Maharashtra government and many Bollywood actors.
“The data shows an important role that politicians, especially the BJP, played in proposing an alternative of ‘murder’ to the ‘suicide’ narrative. There was a real opportunity to address mental health and depression early in the news cycle, but the stories quickly turned into allusive concoctions, ”he says.
He says that the Mumbai police were heavily controlled “by various stakeholders, but particularly by BJP politicians.” The Maharashtra government was also targeted, according to the study. “The attack on the police was used as a bridge to attack the state cabinet, starting with #AnilDeshmukhSavingSSRKillers (the interior minister), #MahaGovtExposed and finally Aditya Thackeray, who is already one of the most controlled politicians in India.” says the study. He says.
The BJP has also been accused of trying to profit politically from the actor’s death. Rajput was from Bihar, where elections will be held later this month.
On Saturday, a six-member team of forensic doctors from AIIMS ruled out the possibility that the Rajput was killed, saying that he had committed suicide.
In reaction to this report, Mumbai Police Commissioner Singh said that his police had investigated the case in a very professional manner. “The CBI had created a panel of AIIMS physicians who have substantiated our investigation and the findings from Cooper’s hospital and forensic laboratory. Except for a few people, no one else was aware of our investigation, but many have criticized the investigation, “he said. Hindustan Times.
If you know someone (friend or family member) at risk of suicide, please contact them. The Indian Foundation for Suicide Prevention maintains a list of phone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) that you can call to speak in confidence. You can also refer them to the nearest hospital.
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