Fatehpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 19 (IANS): An FIR has been lodged against two journalists in Fatehpur district for allegedly spreading fake news on Twitter about the alleged rape and murder of two minor Dalit girls.

The FIR has been lodged against one Dhara Singh Yadav and a journalist of a news channel. The complaint was lodged by station officer of Asothar, Ranjeet Bahadur Singh.

Singh, in his FIR, alleged that he was on patrol duty in Chichni village when he came to know that a private channel journalist and Dhara Singh Yadav were spreading fake news on Twitter about the killing of two minor girls in the area.

"While the girls had died due to drowning while trying to pluck water chestnut from a lake, the two journalists were spreading fake news to create animosity between the Dalit and other communities. The journalists were spreading baseless news on Twitter that the girls' bodies were thrown in the lake with their hands and legs tied and that they were raped and their eyes taken out. This was causing enmity between the Dalit community and other groups," he said.

He cited the post-mortem report which stated that the minor girls died due to drowning and no damage was caused to their eyes and other body parts.

It may be recalled that two minor sisters were found dead in a pond in Chichni and the family alleged rape and murder but the police had stated that the girls died by drowning.