Facebook Post Calling for Release of Detained Protesters Blocked in India: Asif Mahmud

A Facebook post calling for the release of detained protesters amid ongoing tensions in India has been blocked in the country, while bots linked to an Indian political party have allegedly been targeting National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan with abusive comments on X, formerly Twitter.

Asif Mahmud made the allegations in a post on his Facebook profile on Sunday night, attaching a screenshot of a notice reportedly issued by Indian authorities.

“ A post calling for the release of protesters in India has been banned in India,” he wrote.

The NCP spokesperson also alleged that bots associated with an Indian political party were targeting him with offensive comments on X.

“Bots from an Indian political party are hurling abuse at me on Twitter,” he added.

Questioning freedom of expression and the state of democracy in India, Asif Mahmud ended his post with a sarcastic remark: “Democracy in different countries!”

The screenshot he shared indicates that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, restricted access to the specific post for users in India in response to a notice from the Indian government or law enforcement authorities.

The notice reportedly cited Section 79(3)(b) of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000, as the legal basis for the restriction.

The post appears to have been geographically restricted, meaning it is inaccessible to users in India while potentially remaining available elsewhere.

The allegations regarding politically affiliated bots and the circumstances surrounding the restriction could not be independently verified from the information provided.