Days after being embroiled in a tussle with Twitter over the issue, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has now been asked by Facebook to remove a post from his Instagram account that reveals the identity of the family of a nine-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly raped, murdered and forcefully cremated in Delhi.
Gandhi received the notice a week after Facebook received a summons from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the Indian Express reported.
Why Was Gandhi Asked to Take Down Post?
"According to NCPCR's 10 August 2021 notice, a post you uploaded through your Instagram account, is unlawful under Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015; Section 23 of the POCSO Act, 2012; and Section 288A of the Indian Penal Code. In accordance with NCPCR's notice, you are requested to remove this post expeditiously," Gandhi was told in an email by Facebook, that owns Instagram.
NCPCR had previously written to Facebook urging it to take appropriate action against the Congress leader.
However, as it did not receive a response from Facebook even after three days, on 13 August, it issued the summons to Facebook insisting the social media platform to send its representatives to appear in person before it.
Facebook was later exempted from summons after it wrote to Gandhi and submitted a copy of the same to the child rights panel.
Background
Last week, Gandhi had visited the family of the nine-year-old girl, leading to the arrest of four accused.
Soon after his meeting, he posted a picture of himself with the girl's parents on Twitter and Instagram.
Twitter had also temporarily blocked the accounts of Gandhi and other Congress leaders last week after they tweeted pictures with the family. Their accounts were later unlocked on 14 August, after Gandhi lashed out at Twitter.
(With inputs from The Indian Express, Times of India, and NDTV)
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