New Delhi: Facing widespread criticism for its handling of gang rape and the brutal murder of a young girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh police have now alleged that there is an ‘international plot’ to cause communal and caste unrest in the state and to smear the minister Chief Yogi Adityanath. .
There is only one problem. The website created by unknown people and touted as the center of this conspiracy has crudely plagiarized a Black Lives Matter protest site without bothering to hide its tracks by removing at least the obvious US references and making it relevant to Uttar Pradesh.
An FIR has been filed against unidentified persons at the Chandpa police station in Hathras under various sections of the IPC, including sedition. At the same time, more than a dozen similar FIRs have been housed in different districts.
Although the FIR in Chandpa PS does not mention it, senior law enforcement officials say that an English website, justiceforhathrasvictim.carrd.co, is linked to the conspiracy. The website has since been removed, but a cached version is available for reference. Carrd.co is a publishing platform that allows anyone with an email address to open a blog site with it. UP police have not released whether they know the identity of the creator of the site. The wire has written to Carrd.co seeking that information, but has not yet received a response.
What the police have not explained is how an English website would end up causing unrest in a mainly Hindi-speaking state.
Interestingly, the most ‘harmful’ website entries shared with The wire by state police – and touted as evidence of the ‘international plot’ to cause riots – have clearly been picked up in a ‘cut and paste’ operation from a site related to Black Lives Matter protests in the United States. The ‘Hathras’ site reproduces that language word for word, leading to a strange set of instructions for would-be protesters and rioters at UP. Show these:
- Those considering joining a protest are advised to investigate the protest to make sure it is not a “montage” where “white supremacists are trying to attract people” and advised Uttar Pradesh residents to be smarter than Uttar Pradesh residents. San Diego and Pheonix.
- The website that police say was aimed at causing UP villagers and townspeople to riot also warned that if they see “black people running,” run with them. It is unclear whether the UP police expected African Americans to riot in Hathras as part of the international plot.
- In a section on “What not to wear” for a protest, Uttar Pradesh villagers are instructed not to “put petroleum jelly, mineral oil or oil-based sunscreen on their skin as they can trap chemicals.” They were also told not to wear contact lenses, ties, jewelry and name brand clothing.
- The website also instructed protesters, presumably people from UP towns and cities, to wear baggy clothing and “swimming goggles.”
- People who wore running shoes were told to be comfortable for running, a hat where the brim needs to fold down to keep it low. A hat would allow unrest-prone UP villagers to be identified and protect them from “sun and chemical exposure.” A bicycle hat and gloves were also recommended.
- Villagers were also told not to wait for an Uber, presumably in Hathras, after protesting, but to use a bicycle to navigate as it is more discreet.
- The protesters were also asked to bring a backpack with sandwiches, water, a portable charger, and cloths to dip in milk or water in case the police fired tear gas.
Surprisingly, the ‘incriminating literature’ promoted by UP police warns potential Uttar Pradesh rioters that the New York Police Department (NYPD) would be filming the protests.
Screenshot of the ‘Hathras Support’ website
A sample poster found on the website describes the organizers of a protest in Calcutta as “women’s rights groups and students affiliated with the left and with Congress,” although left-wing groups do not often use the word ” leftists “to describe themselves.
The website also contains links to petitions that can be signed demanding justice for the victim. He also listed several government email addresses that aggrieved citizens could send emails to and advised them not to copy and paste the emails, but to change the sentences so that they are not considered spam. UP police claim that this was all to “defame” the state government.
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