India to share with Pak evidence on inflammatory content

India will share evidence with Pakistan on morphed images and inflammatory videos uploaded in that country that triggered exodus of Northeast origin people from Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.

"We will definitely share evidence with Pakistan," Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters.

Echoing similar sentiment, Home Secretary R K Singh said New Delhi wanted Islamabad to take action against those who were responsible for such activities on the basis of evidence India will provide to the neighbouring country.

The statements came in the wake of Indian government officials, accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his current Iran tour, indicating that Singh may not raise the issue with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari when he meets him on the sidelines of the ongoing NAM summit.

The Home Secretary, meanwhile, said, "I have never said SMSes originated in Pakistan. But yes, majority of doctored, morphed pictures and video on the web uploaded from Pakistan."

He also said India never claimed that Pakistan government or its intelligence agency ISI was responsible for the inflammatory pictures but that it was the handwork of some individuals in Pakistan.

Shinde said he had raised the issue of morphed images and inflammatory videos being uploaded in Pakistan with his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik when the latter telephoned him on August 19.

"I have also asked him (Malik) to take action against those Pakistani elements which were involved in it," he said.

Thousands of people from the Northeast living in cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune left their work places last fortnight following rumours of reprisal attacks after the ethnic violence in Assam.

The rumours spread after morphed images and inflammatory videos were uploaded in several hundred websites, falsely suggesting that atrocities were committed on minorities living in Assam during clashes between Bodos and Muslims.

Government has already blocked more than 300 webpages where these contents were uploaded.

The home secretary on August 18 had said that bulk of the rumours spread through web contents that triggered panic among people of northeastern states were sourced from Pakistan.