Distorted India map row: UP Police books Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari

An FIR has been lodged against the managing director of Twitter India Manish Maheshwari and his colleague in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr for allegedly showing a distorted map of India on their website.

Distorted India map row:

The case was lodged on a complaint from a Bajrang Dal leader, who alleged that in a world map on Twitter, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were shown as entities separate from India.

"This is not merely a coincidence. This has hurt my feelings as well as those of the people of Bharat," said Pravin Bhati, co-convenor, Bajrang Dal. The FIR was lodged under Section 505 (2) of the IPC and Section 74 of the IT Act.

Apart from Mr. Maheshwari, it also names Amrita Tripathi, who is mentioned as India head of Twitter. Ms. Tripathi, without mentioning any FIR, posted on Tuesday: "So is this a good time to clarify my role at my day job? As good a time as any?

Presently on the content partnerships team at Twitter (in India). No spl powers/ authority and definitely not at the level some of you think..."

The case relates to a controversial map of India which earlier appeared on the career section of the Twitter website under the header 'Tweep Life'. It was revealed earlier last weekend that the map actually showed Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, as a separate country. After the distorted map came under public scrutiny last weekend, it triggered a heavy censuring from netizens, and even though Twitter got rid of the contentious map on late Monday night, demands of strict action against the microblogging platform were raised.

Twitter is facing heavy backlash in India

Twitter is facing heavy backlash in India amid its stand-off with the central government over compliance with the new IT rules in the country. The Uttar Pradesh Police had earlier summoned Maheshwari for questioning in connection with an allegedly misleading video of an elderly Muslim man being assaulted in the Loni area of Ghaziabad district. The firm was also issued a second notice by Ghaziabad police to seek "account details" of the suspects accused by the police of posting and promoting the video.

Maheshwari, the managing director of Twitter India, had on Monday filed a caveat in anticipation of an appeal by the UP police against the relief granted to him by the Karnataka high court in connection with the investigation into the Loni assault case. Through his caveat, the Twitter official urged the top court to hear him before passing any order and be served a copy of any petition moved by Uttar Pradesh police.

Meanwhile, Twitter on Monday also appointed its US-based global legal policy director Jeremy Kessel as the new grievance officer for India. The rules, however, call for an Indian resident for the role.

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