FB users linked to 'Hindu extremists' offered guns for sale?

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Facebook's groups linked to a pro-Hindutva organisation that has a history of violence, had reportedly put up offers for the sale of platform handguns, rifles, shotguns and bullets. Over eight such posts were spotted by Raqib Hameed Naik, the founder of Hindutva Watch that looks into the attacks against religious minorities in India.

Some of the posts had been posted on Facebook since the month of April, with some sellers promising that they could deliver the firearms in a span of 24 hours. While he reported the matter to Meta in late January as the posts contradict the publicly stated policy prohibiting private individuals from buying or selling firearms or ammunition on Facebook platforms, they refused to remove them.

After the Wall Street Journal inquired about the incident, Facebook removed the posts on February 7, saying that the posts did not comply with the policies of Facebook. Posts offering the sale of firearms had popped up in groups that are associated with the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

In 2018, Bajrang Dal was deemed a militant religious organisation by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US. However, the organisation has maintained that the assessment of the CIA is misguided and the group does not believe in violence or purchase of firearms.

In one of the posts, the users had written the following in Hindi: Any “brother” who needs a “Desi katta pistol,” must contact the user via WhatsApp through the number provided. When Raqib Hameed Naik contacted the number, the person responded with further details on the sale. He had said that one of the pistols could be purchased for Rs 11,000. Naik has said that the material must cause alarm considering the ongoing religious tension prevalent in the nation.

Facebook, in the year 2020, had determined that Bajrang Dal likely qualified as a “dangerous organisation” that needed to be banned from the platform. However, it did not remove the group from functioning as its security team reported that the crack own may cause security concerns for the staff in India while also endangering its business prospects.

Meta has received severe slack from various right groups for failing to police its platform in India adequately, even though the nation is its biggest market in terms of users – over 300 million people use Facebook and more than 400 million people use Meta’s messaging service Whatsapp.

Owning a firearm has many restrictions in India – buyers need to be at least 21 years of age and must also possess gun licences. Along with this, the sellers must also be licensed.