HC orders Delhi Cybercrime to remove website showing vandalism of Hyderabad idol

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court ordered the removal and blocking of an objectionable website showing the video of the damaged idol of Goddess Muthyalamma in Mahankali Temple, Secunderabad.

On October 14, a man entered the Muthyalamma Temple and vandalised the idol. The man was identified as 30-year-old Salman Salim Thakur with a history of involvement in damaging idols in Mumbai.

The desecration of the temple led to large-scale protests in the city by Hindu organisations that demanded strict punishment for the accused. Investigation so far revealed that Salman, a native of Mumbai, self-radicalised and developed a radical mindset and hatred towards religions practising idolatry.

On Tuesday, the High Court single bench, comprising Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy, directed the chief executive officer of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, New Delhi, to immediately remove and block the objectionable URL showing the desecration.

The court directed the SHO of Marredpally to take action on the complaint of the petitioner immediately strictly by the law and adjourned the writ petition that brought the case to court. Justice Vijaysen Reddy directed the petitioner to furnish relevant material along with the complaint to the Marredpally SHO for necessary action.

Video creating communal tensions

The judge was hearing the writ petition filed by Immaneni Rama Rao, an advocate and a resident of West Marredpally, Secunderabad, who was aggrieved by the inaction of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre in initiating action in prohibiting/restraining or restricting public access to the website showing a person entering the Muthyalamma Temple and damaging the idol. He said the video is ‘creating a hostile environment against a section of the society, leading to law and order issues and communal disharmony in the State.’

The counsel for the petitioner informed the court that though the complaint was forwarded to the Marredpally SHO by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre CEO to take action against the perpetrators, no action was taken. The judge agreed that despite the complaint, no action was taken by both authorities.

The counsel for the petitioner also informed the court that groups identified as Islamic State of Khorasan Province are spreading terrorist ideology and cyber terrorism through their websites identified as ‘voice of Khurasan’ and ‘TKD monitoring the Khurasan dairy’. He said that their reach extended to the entire country, not just Telangana, creating a hostile environment disturbing communal harmony.

The case was adjourned for November 5.