NEW DELHI: On Saturday, the Zonal police of Kashmir has served a show cause notice to left-wing website ‘The Wire’ for propagating fake news on its website. The notice has been signed by, IGP Kashmir, IPS Vijay Kumar listed two specific incidents where portal has peddled fake news.
The notice asks The Wire to explain why necessary action under law or a formal complaint before the Press Council of India (PCI) should not be registered. It gives the portal a week’s time to submit its reply.
“The notice says that on the 28th of June, a report was published with the headline “They have destroyed my family” where it was claimed, “In recent times, many SPO’s have resigned from services after facing threats from the militants while some have even joined the militancy.”
Kashmir Police calls it a “rumour” which “has caused fear and alarm among the masses”. “Under the circumstances when security forces in the region are working day and night to combat and eradicate the menace of terrorism in the valley such false narrative and statement without any figures based upon presumption and assumption are prejudicial to the interests of the security of the nation,” it adds.
Another report from the 7th of June with the headline “Genuine encounter or custodial killing” is said to have misrepresented facts of the matter. The Kashmir Police accuses The Wire pf “mischievous misrepresentation of facts” and says that the accused was arrested in an FIR and all legal procedures have been followed.
The Kashmir Police accuses the leftist portal of indulging in “misrepresentation of facts, sensationalism, concocted mixing of facts with opinion of some unknown experts”. The portal was also accused of engaging in a media trial.