New Delhi, Oct 22: The Tripura Police have reached Delhi to take custody of social media influencer Amir Shokeen, who was arrested by Delhi Police from the national capital’s Karol Bagh area earlier on Thursday in connection with an alleged incident of racial harassment and humiliation of an individual from Tripura, depicted in a video circulating on social media, officials said.
This came after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the Delhi Police at the Sadar Bazar police station under Sections 192, 196, 352, and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the police, Shokeen’s location was traced to Shahdara on Thursday afternoon. Officials said that he had been continuously changing his location. On Wednesday evening, Sadar Bazar Police arrested the influencer from Karol Bagh area with the help of technical surveillance.
The police said that he had been hiding at a relative’s house. Meanwhile, a team of the Tripura Police, who had already registered a case against Amir Shokeen, have reached Delhi. Officials said that the Tripura Police will go to Sadar Bazar police station, where they will take custody of the social media influencer from Delhi Police.
To obtain his transit remand, the police will produce Shokeen before a court. According to the police, he had made the controversial video about a month ago. Earlier, Shokeen apologised after the offensive video surfaced on social media and earned him major backlash.
In a Facebook post, Shokeen claimed that the video was scripted and that the man featured in it was known to him. He said the man had previously worked at a friend’s cafe in Ahmedabad and described the exchange as a humorous video in which both people were joking. The social media influencer noted that he had no intention of insulting anyone.
This is not the first time that an FIR has been filed against Amir Shokeen. Previously, cases under Sections 323, 324, 504, and 506 of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) have been registered against the influencer, officials added. The Delhi Police lodged the case against Shokeen after the Tripura Students Forum Delhi submitted a formal complaint to the police, seeking registration of an FIR and an urgent investigation into the case.
The development came after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju raised the issue on social media. In its complaint, the Tripura Students Forum Delhi (TSFD) sought the police’s urgent intervention, expressing concern over the alleged treatment of the individual by a social media content creator.
IANS