Kalyan Jewellers moves court after fake news on YouTube causes Rs 500-crore loss
Kerala, July 11: Kerala-based Kalyan Jewellers has claimed that fake news on social media led to it suffering a loss of around Rs 500 crore and has moved the Kerala High Court seeking supervision of social media websites.
The jewellery company, in its plea filed in the high court, says that fake videos claiming to show the seizure of counterfeit gold at its showrooms have been shared on social media websites such as YouTube. The fake videos are part of a malicious campaign against Kalyan Jewellers by business rivals, the brand further claims in its petition.
Terming the campaign as defamatory and misleading, Kalyan alleges that it has incurred losses running in to more than Rs 500 crores.
According to the plea, the name and logo of the company have been used in videos to portray what was a routine inspection in one of its Kuwait stores as a raid. The videos have been edited to make it seem like that a Kalyan jeweller showroom was inspected and jewellery from the store seized due to fraudulent practices by the company.
The original footage was of a routine inspection that Kuwaiti officials conduct on all jewellers in the country. They took some jewellery samples from the Kalyan jeweller store as part of their inspection.
This routine inspection has been incorrectly shown as evidence of Kalyan Jewellers selling fake gold and of authorities seizing that fake gold.
The petition has asked for greater control and supervision of social media sites stating that "How can a platform that does not have control over their own sites be allowed to function in India? It appears The Government of India does not have any control over these sites. "
In response, the Kerala High Court has issued a notice calling for the introduction of regulatory mechanisms to curb fake news on social media platforms.
Kalyan Jewellers has been fighting to curb alleged fake accusations made against it for months now. In a post on its official Facebook post, it said that three individuals were arrested by Kerala Police for spreading false information about it.
In March, five Indian expatriates were booked by the Dubai Police on charges of cybercrime and abuse via the internet for spreading false information about the company.
Kalyan Jewellers is a Kerala-based jewellery retailer with more than 120 showrooms in India and the Gulf. The brand has several high profile ambassadors, including Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Nagarjuna.
Courtesy: www.indiatoday.in
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
