India

Fake Facebook user booked for posing as Shia cleric over hate content in UP

Police registered a case after a fake Facebook account allegedly used the Shia cleric’s name to circulate inflammatory posts ahead of Eid-al-Adha.

Lucknow: A Facebook user posing as a Shia cleric has been booked for allegedly inciting animosity, hatred, and hostility between communities, police said on Tuesday.

Case registered after complaint

The action came on a complaint by Shia cleric Maulana Mirza Mohammad Yasoob Abbas, who alleged that a Facebook user was using his name to circulate a misleading post on social media.

Abbas, who is also the national general Secretary of the All India Shia Personal Law Board, rubbished the posts made in his name and appealed to the public not to believe them.

The person who is yet to be identified was booked under sections 353(2) (public mischief) of the BNS and the IT Act at the city’s Chowk Police Station.

In a video statement, Abbas said that it was saddening that such a false statement was attributed to him on social media ahead of Eid-al-Adha.

He urged the state government to take strict action against the person and appealed for communal harmony.

This post was last modified on May 27, 2026 7:08 am

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Press Trust of India (PTI) is India’s premier news agency, having a reach as vast as the Indian Railways. It employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.

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