Sushant Singh Rajput case: Delhi resident arrested over social media posts

Anand, who identifies himself as a lawyer and ‘SSRian’, has a sizeable following on Twitter and YouTube. (File)

THE MUMBAI police have arrested Delhi resident Vibhor Anand for allegedly posting false allegations in the Sushant Singh Rajput case on social media platforms.

An FIR was registered against Anand for allegedly defaming several people and casting aspersions on the Mumbai Police probe, and its officers, in the alleged suicide of the actor.

A crime branch officer said, “We arrested Anand from Delhi last night. He was brought to the city and currently we are getting his medical tests including Covid-19 done. Following that he will be questioned.” The officer said that they registered an FIR against Anand after going through the content he put up on social media.

“He floated several conspiracy theories about the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and also defamed several people by claiming they were involved in murdering the actor. He also cast aspersions on the probe carried out by the Mumbai police in the case,” the officer said. Incidentally actor Arbaaz Khan, who too filed a defamation suit, named Anand as one of the defendants.

Anand, who identifies himself as a lawyer and ‘SSRian’, has a sizeable following on Twitter and YouTube. He uses these social media platforms regularly to air views on major national events. He had also sought the removal of Param Bir Singh as the Mumbai police commissioner.

The Mumbai police commissioner recently announced that based on the reports of their social media laboratory, the cyber police was taking action against those who created fake accounts and used bots to push forward a particular narrative on the Rajput case.

The commissioner had last week said that they had identified 80,000 social media accounts that were involved in defaming the Mumbai police and Maharashtra government.

The commissioner further added that bots — machine operated accounts and not actual persons — had been used to spread the narrative against Mumbai police.

The police have said in the past that social media accounts along with some TV news channels were involved in defaming the Mumbai police and Maharashtra government. Apart from this, there have also been defamation suits filed by several production houses in Bollywood and witnesses against news channels for tarnishing their names.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.