Delhi Police on Thursday arrested social media influencer Amir Shokeen, hours after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him at Sadar Bazar police station in connection with an alleged incident of racial harassment and humiliation of a person from Tripura, depicted in a video circulating on social media, news agency IANS reported, citing officials. The case was registered under Sections 192, 196, 352 and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Source: IANS via The Freedom Press
The Delhi Police lodged the case after the Tripura Students Forum Delhi submitted a formal complaint seeking registration of an FIR and an urgent investigation, IANS reported. Tripura Police have also registered a case in connection with the row. Tripura Director General of Police G.S. Rao told ANI that the video came to the notice of the police on Wednesday evening, that a complaint was received and an FIR registered, and that a team from Tripura Police was leaving for Delhi. Rao said he had personally spoken to senior Delhi Police officers, and that both the victim and the perpetrator had been identified.
Source: ANI via Devdiscourse
Shokeen had earlier apologised after the video surfaced and drew widespread backlash. In a Facebook post, he claimed the video was scripted and that the man featured in it was known to him, had previously worked at a friend's cafe in Ahmedabad, and that the exchange was a humorous one in which both people were joking. He maintained that he had no intention of insulting anyone. The development followed Union Minister Kiren Rijiju raising the issue on social media, according to IANS reporting.
Source: IANS via HiIndia
Officials said this is not the first case against Shokeen, and that earlier cases had been registered against him under Indian Penal Code Sections 323, 324, 504 and 506. The racial-abuse allegations in the present case remain allegations under investigation; Shokeen has been arrested, not convicted, and further legal proceedings are awaited.
Source: IANS via Nation Press