Ujjain Police Book Five Social Media Influencers Over Shahi Masjid Posts

Madhya Pradesh police investigating the violence surrounding the partial demolition of the Shahi Masjid in Ujjain have booked five local social media influencers, alleging they used reels and videos to incite people and disturb communal harmony.

All five are residents of Ujjain. The case, registered at Kharakua police station, invokes provisions related to promoting enmity, outraging religious feelings and circulating false information. The complaint names holders of several Instagram and Facebook accounts and identifies specific posts that police say were in circulation on September 27, the day before the confrontation.

According to the FIR, the accused were also present at the mosque site as part of a protest. They are alleged to have made reels, uploaded videos and shared them on social media in order to organise the protest, spread propaganda against a religion, disturb public peace and incite people.

One Instagram account, which police say belongs to Sajid Khan, allegedly carried a video stating that police had arrived at the Shahi Masjid with a JCB and urging viewers to reach the mosque as soon as possible. Another account is said to belong to Imran. The case also names Facebook accounts linked to Gulrez Khan, Billu Pathan and Arif Pathan, accused of circulating videos asking people to gather at the mosque around 2 am. The FIR warns of a strong possibility that such activity could disturb social and religious harmony in the city.

Investigators have also pointed to a section of the mosque committee that was unhappy with the demolition and is said to have mobilised the crowd.

On Monday morning, tensions that had built up around the mosque the previous night escalated into violence as a large crowd assembled at the site, where the administration was preparing to remove the portion of the structure falling within the alignment of a road proposed for Simhastha 2028.

Police and security personnel deployed around the mosque came under stone-pelting, after which tear gas shells were fired and a lathi charge carried out to disperse the crowd. Fifteen people have been arrested and eight FIRs registered across three police stations. Investigators are also examining more than 100 Instagram accounts and posts, along with CCTV and drone footage.