Haryanvi singer Masoom Sharma booked for indecent, offensive language at Dehradun college
Dehradun (PTI): An FIR has been registered against Haryanvi folk singer Masoom Sharma on charges of using indecent, obscene and objectionable language from the stage during an event organised by a students' union at Dehradun's DAV Post Graduate College, police said on Monday.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Harish Rawat expressed concern over the matter, saying that the state government should formulate a clear standard operating procedure (SOP) for such events.
Dehradun Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar said that a case was registered against Sharma late Sunday night at the Kotwali Dalanwala police station. The action was taken based on videos of the incident—which happened on Saturday evening—that surfaced on social media, as well as a written complaint filed by Pranchal Nauni, a representative of the 'Satyam Shivam' student organisation at DAV Post Graduate College.
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The complaint alleged that during the event, Sharma used indecent, obscene and objectionable words from the stage, thereby, hurting the sentiments of the students and members of the general public present there.
The police official said that an investigation has been initiated after registering a case against Sharma under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 296 (performing obscene acts or singing obscene songs in public places), Section 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke a breach of peace), Section 79 (using words, gestures, sounds, or displaying any object with the intent to outrage a woman's modesty), and Section 351(3) (issuing serious criminal threats).
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also attended the event, but he had departed from the venue before Sharma's alleged misconduct took place. However, Umesh Kumar, the Independent MLA from the Khanpur constituency in Haridwar, was present at the venue.
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The organisers of the event, feeling uncomfortable with the folk singer's conduct, attempted to bring the situation under control. However, a video of the incident subsequently went viral on social media.
Meanwhile, former chief minister Rawat said that he, too, had attended a student union event just the day before, and that visiting such gatherings to interact with students has always been a matter of pride for him.
"However, I am deeply concerned about the nature of the songs being performed on stage there and the kind of 'cultural gunpowder' being introduced into Uttarakhand and the potential impact this will have on our culture, dialects, songs, and music," he said.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
