TikTok ‘influencers’ charged for hate speech and attempting to incite communal violence

• TikTok influencers have been charged with promoting enmity between religious groups after releasing a video seeking to 'avenge' the mob lynching of Tabrez Ansari.
  
• The viral video said, "You may have killed that innocent Tabrez Ansari, but tomorrow if his son takes revenge, do not say all Muslims are terrorists."
  
• TikTok deactivated three user accounts and Zee Music Company is denying any association with individuals.
  

India police registered a case against three TikTok influencers — Hasnain Khan, Faisal Shaikh and Sadhan Faroqui — for trying to incite communal violence using the short video sharing platform.


The complaint was filed by Ramesh Solanki, a Shiv Sena activist, against the TikTok group 'Team 07' which has nearly 40 million followers. Their TikTok accounts have been suspended and the police are looking into who else was responsible for the viral video which said, "You may have killed that innocent Tabrez Ansari, but tomorrow if his son takes revenge, do not say all Muslims are terrorists."

The video was looking to 'avenge' the mob lynching of Tabrez Ansari, who was tied to a pole for attempting to steal a motorcycle in Jharkhand. He was beaten for 12 hours while being forced to chant 'Jai Sri Ram' (Hail Lord Ram). Ansari died in police custody within five days of the incident.

Brands disassociate themselves

While the accounts of these three users reportedly described the users as artists with the Zee Music Company, the media major is denying any association.

TikTok issued a statement saying, "Such irresponsible acts will not be tolerated on our platform. Hence, we have suspended the three user accounts and cooperating with law enforcement agencies."

The police are still looking into other stakeholders of the video like the person shooting it and others who were featured.

The participants of the video are being charged under Section 153-A and Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion and collaborating to further a common intention, respectively.