Twitter MD says would appear before police on one condition
Manish Maheshwari, the chief of Twitter's India operations, has told the Karnataka High Court he is ready to appear before the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the Ghaziabad assault video case, on one condition. The social media company's Managing Director told the court he would appear before cops within 24 hours provided they guarantee he will not be arrested. Here are more details.
'UP Police should provide an undertaking'
"If the court records the submission of the respondent (UP Police) that they are not going to lay their hand upon me, then I'm willing to appear before the police personally, provided they give an undertaking," Maheshwari told the court through his counsel CV Nagesh today. "The police can't name me as the person representing the company. Only the company can," he further argued.
We don't want to arrest Maheshwari: UP Police
In response, the UP Police told the court it does not want to arrest Maheshwari. "We just need his co-operation in the investigation." "Maheshwari was summoned only as a representative of Twitter. Nothing more...nothing less...All we want to know is who is the in-charge of Twitter in India...nothing else. Notice to Maheshwari was also for the same," the police added.
Matter adjourned until tomorrow afternoon
Meanwhile, the court asked the UP Police if it had conducted initial inquiries to establish Twitter India's connection with the case. "Is there anything to show omission by Twitter India?" the High Court asked. To that, the UP Police responded, "That is a matter of investigation." After hearing both the sides, the court adjourned the matter until 3:45 pm tomorrow.
Maheshwari was summoned twice, but he moved court
Maheshwari was twice asked by the UP Police to appear at a Ghaziabad Police station and record his statement in this case. He, however, skipped the summons and moved the Karnataka High Court against the police notices. The court then granted him temporary protection from arrest and said he did not have to travel to UP for the time being.
What is the Ghaziabad assault case?
For the unversed, a video showing an elderly Muslim man, Abdul Samad, being assaulted in Ghaziabad's Loni area went viral on Twitter last month. Even though he claimed in a separate video that he was beaten up by Hindu men and forced to chant "Jai Shree Ram," police said there was "no communal angle" to the incident and booked many for tweeting the video.
Twitter involved in several legal cases in India
This was the first in a series of police cases filed in several states against senior Twitter India officials, after the company lost its legal protection over non-compliance of the Indian government's new Information Technology rules. The Ghaziabad Police has also sent a notice to Twitter India's former grievance officer, Dharmendra Chatur, in connection with the case.
