TIFR withdraws notice which restricted employees from posting 'anti-govt' statements on social media
Mumbai(PTI): The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has withdrawn the notice which had restricted its employees from making anti-government statements in posts on social media, an official of the institute said.
The notice was withdrawn on Monday, said Ajay Abhyankar, the spokesperson of the institute.
The TIFR, a premier scientific institution in the country under the Department of Atomic Energy, had on Saturday termed the wording of the notice as "great misinterpretation" which imposed restrictions on its employees from making anti-government statements in posts on social media.
The notice said, "... making public criticisms against the institution or the government has always required prior permission."
"On April 13, 2022, consequent to a notice issued by the DAE, the Registrar of TIFR had issued a notice to all TIFR employees, imposing restrictions on (1) posting pictures or videos of the Institute premises, and (2) making anti-government statements in posts on social media, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, etc," the TIFR had said.
It also requested staff to apprise their family members about the same.
"The purpose of the notice was to clarify that both the above pre-existing rules also apply to social media as well as to other media, such as TV, or print media. No new restrictions on family members and visitors of staff members are being imposed or are intended to be imposed. This note is being issued to clarify this point," the notice had 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.
