Second FIR against six senior journalists and Shashi Tharoor registered in Madhya Pradesh: PTI

The Madhya Pradesh police has filed an FIR against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists for "misleading" tweets on the violence during the farmers' tractor rally on January 26, PTI reported. The six journalists named in the FIR are Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Mrinal Pande, Anant Nath, Zafar Agha, and Paresh Nath.

The case against them was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including promoting enmity, engaging in acts that are prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between religions, and making statements promoting hatred or ill-will.

This comes a day after the Noida police filed a similar FIR against the same seven individuals for “misreporting” and “spreading disharmony”. The Noida police's FIR was lodged under penal sections punishing sedition, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, and criminal intimidation.

According to PTI, the FIR was registered in Bhopal following a complaint by one Sanjay Raghuwanshi late last night. Misrod police inspector Niranjan Sharma was quoted as saying: "The complainant accused these people of posting false and misleading tweets from their accounts during the farmers' protest on January 26 in the national capital."

PTI noted that Sharma "said the complainant alleged that their action led to a 'big threat to national security' and caused danger to the lives of many people in Delhi and elsewhere".