Hyderabad Police arrests one for posting communally sensitive posts on social media platforms

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 25 (ANI): The Cyber Crime team of Hyderabad City police arrested a man for allegedly posting misleading and communally sensitive posts on social media platforms. The accused man, aged 33 years, is a resident of Hyderabad, according to a press release issued by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Cyber Crimes, Hyderabad City.
The accused, with the intention of creating communal tension among different religions, created photos of sexually explicit content, morphed images of religious beliefs, which were controversial and spread rumours, and circulated the posts on social media accounts through fake IDs.
According to police, on 23.08.2025, when the complainant was browsing Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms, and noticed some disturbing morphed images created with the support of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool, which contained sexually explicit content, morphed images of religious beliefs and were circulated on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Police said that the content was shared through fake user IDs, adding derogatory and abusive remarks against one community. More concerning, the content was sexually explicit, blasphemous and communally sensitive in nature and appears to be deliberately intended to outrage the modesty of women of one particular community, incite hatred or provoke enmity between religious communities.
The alleged posts suggested an attempt to create public alarm and disrupt communal harmony, particularly in the Hyderabad City area. Given the current social context, such content had the potential to lead to public disorder, breach of peace, and heightened communal tensions.
"The circulation of such provocative material on public platforms like Facebook, Instagram is deeply concerning and warrants immediate attention", said police.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 67(A) of the IT Act and Sections 196(1), 299 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Cyber Crimes, Hyderabad. The accused was arrested and sent to judicial remand.
The accused reportedly impersonated himself as a person belonging to another community and was trying to mislead the public through sensitive posts. Believing it to be true, around 1500 people turned out to be his followers.
The police seized a mobile phone, which was used in the commission of the offence by the accused.
The team, headed by K Prasada Rao, Inspector of Police, and consisting of team members PC's S Srinivasa Reddy, G Kranthi Kumar Reddy, H Shekar, and D Shekar, under the supervision of RG Siva Maruthi, ACP, Cyber Crimes, Hyderabad, detected the case.
Hyderabad Police issued a public advisory requesting people not to believe social media posts related to communal violence, spreading rumours against one community.
The advisory said, "The government and law enforcement agencies are continuously monitoring social media activities. Individuals found guilty of misusing social media to defame, threaten, harass, or manipulate public opinion will face stringent legal action, including but not limited to arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and fines under appropriate laws."
"No Tolerance for Misinformation and Hate Speech: Spreading false information, rumours, hate speech, or content that promotes communal disharmony and violence is a punishable offence. All activities on social media platforms are subject to laws governing freedom of speech, defamation, cybercrime, and public order", according to the public advisory.
The public advisory further read, "Misuse or abuse of these platforms will be dealt with strictly under the applicable laws. Victims of cybercrime fraud can immediately dial 1930 or visit cybercrime.gov.in.". (ANI)