The West Bengal Police have issued a takedown notice to social media platform X, claiming that two posts by cartoonist Manjul from six years ago violate Indian law.
Both cartoons featured Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
X has informed Manjul of the police communication but has not removed the content from the platform as of Thursday evening, the cartoonist confirmed.
Both cartoons date back to 2019 and addressed politically sensitive topics. One referenced the chit fund scams that allegedly occurred during the ruling party’s tenure, while the other highlighted the wave of defections from the TMC to the BJP before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The cartoons were originally published in an online portal and later reposted by Manjul on his X account (then Twitter) in May 2019.
“It is surprising that the Bengal government would raise objections suddenly after six years,” Manjul told this newspaper on Thursday evening. “It’s strange that Bengal police are reacting to a supposed crime after six years, though I’m confident I did nothing wrong.”
The timing is particularly notable given that the West Bengal Cyber Crime Wing — the unit that sent the notice to X — did not exist in 2019 and is a relatively recent addition to the West Bengal Police.
A senior officer from the cyber crime wing, speaking anonymously, confirmed the unit had sent the letter. “This information came from another police unit. We just forwarded it to the social media platform as routine procedure,” the officer said, without clarifying which unit had provided the information.
Manjul learned of the action on June 18 when X sent him a notification. The platform’s letter, which Manjul shared with Metro, states: “In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from West Bengal Cyber Crime Wing regarding your X account, @MANJULtoons, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of India.”
The letter includes links to the two disputed posts and adds: “We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time… As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity to remove content from their account.”
“While X is not able to provide legal advice [or translate any attached legal process], we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.”
Manjul said he is “expecting anything” and noted that “the ball is now in the court of the Bengal police”.
“It is sad to see how the system favours only the powerful while it should be meant for protecting the rights of the weak,” he said.
In 2012, Ambikesh Mahapatra, a professor at Jadavpur University, was arrested
after he forwarded an email cartoon that featured Mamata and then party leader Mukul Roy.
The cartoon shared by Mahapatra referred to the removal of the then Union railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi, and his replacement with Mukul Roy. It played on a dialogue from Satyajit Ray’s classic Sonar Kella. Mamata described the cartoon as “character assassination”. The legal case continued for over a decade before Mahapatra was acquitted.