One person was detained on Monday for allegedly uploading a misleading video related to a clash between two communities in Kishtwar district, police said, while issuing a public advisory urging citizens to use social media responsibly.
The action followed an incident in a remote village of the Nagseni area, where a dispute between two communities escalated into stone-pelting, leaving a few people with minor injuries. According to the police, the incident began when members of one community were transporting logs from a forest and a log accidentally slipped and stopped near a madrassa, triggering an altercation that later intensified.
Police said the detained individual uploaded a video portraying the incident as an attack on a religious place and attempted to give it a communal angle, thereby disturbing public peace. An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and further investigation is underway. Another FIR was also registered for spreading inflammatory content, following which the person was detained.
Meanwhile, Kishtwar District Magistrate Pankaj Kumar Sharma issued an order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), directing strict regulation of digital news and current affairs content in the district. The order targets unregistered online news portals and social media pages operating without verification or accountability.
Under the directive, unauthorised platforms have been barred from publishing or circulating news content without complying with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The order will remain in force for two months, with strict legal action warned against those spreading misleading or inflammatory content.
