The Lahaul and Spiti police have registered an FIR against a man for allegedly posting defamatory and hate-inducing content on social media targeting Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), the tribal people of Lahaul and the President of India.

The case was registered following a complaint forwarded by the Office of the Superintendent of Police along with 15 screenshots of the alleged Facebook posts. The complainant, Sudarshan Jaspa, a resident of Jasarath village in Udaipur subdivision, alleged that the accused, identified as Jitender Rajput, had repeatedly uploaded objectionable posts intended to insult constitutionally protected communities and incite social disharmony.

According to the complaint, one of the posts, allegedly uploaded on July 10 used derogatory language against the President and the Prime Minister. The complainant claimed that the remarks indirectly targeted the President because of her Scheduled Tribe identity and reflected a continuing pattern of offensive content directed at tribal communities, particularly the people of Lahaul.

After examining the complaint, police found that it disclosed a cognisable offence under Section 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, and registered an FIR.

The complainant has also urged the police to preserve the accused's complete social media record, including posts, comments, account data and other digital evidence, to prevent any material from being deleted during the investigation.

As the case has been registered under the SC/ST Act, the Station House Officer has sought the appointment of a competent Gazetted Officer to investigate the matter. The FIR has been forwarded to the court and senior police officials and further investigation is in progress.