Congress leader Udit Raj was booked Saturday for his tweet over the death of two girls in Unnao, with the police alleging he propagated fake news that the teenagers were raped and their bodies cremated against the will of their family.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Anand Kulkarni said the claims made in the tweet were far from the facts emerging in the post-mortem report and the post was an attempt to create anger through "misleading" rumours.
The post-mortem report did not confirm rape and the families had themselves cremated the bodies without any pressure, the SP said, adding that through the tweet, an effort was made to propagate concocted and fake news.
An FIR has been registered with the Sadar Kotwali police station in this connection and further action is being taken, the SP said.
In the tweet in Hindi, posted Friday, Udit Raj had stated, "Just spoke to former MP Savitri Bai Phule on the telephone. Police let them meet the victims in Unnao after difficulty. The victims' family members said the girls had been raped and the bodies were cremated against their wishes."
When contacted on Saturday, Udit Raj said he had tweeted on the issue after talking to Phule who had gone there. "I have also given reference of Phule in the tweet."
He then went on to attack the BJP government in the state.
In Uttar Pradesh, cases are being lodged against all those raising their voices, he alleged. In Hathras, when "officials had spread the rumour", no action was taken but "we are standing with the truth and no one can suppress our voice", he said.
Three girls, aged 15, 14 and 16, left their homes in Babuhara village in Asoha, around 36 km south of Lucknow, to collect fodder on Wednesday evening. As they did not return, their family members went out to search and found them in a field.
The villagers informed the police and rushed the girls to a local hospital where two of them were declared brought dead. The third girl was rushed to the Unnao hospital and later referred to Kanpur.
The last rites of the deceased girls were performed Friday morning amid tight security arrangements.
The Unnao police has held two people in this connection, accusing them of murder over a one-sided love affair.