The Jharkhand police have registered three FIRs against two accounts operating on Facebook and Instagram based on allegations that “a direct campaign by Opposition parties and their candidates” was being run “to promote feelings of hostility and hatred towards JMM and (Chief Minister) Hemant Soren… in the minds of the people”.

The police have sent requests to take down the posts of these “shadow accounts” — accounts whose ownership and funding are undisclosed and are allegedly set up to influence political outcomes — to Meta, the parent company of the two social media platforms. Police have also sought details of those handling the accounts.

Two cases were registered on November 8 against a page called Ranchi Chaupal at Gonda and Ratu police stations in Ranchi district, and a fresh case was registered against the Jharkhand Chaupal page at Ranchi’s Cyber Crime police station on Wednesday. The FIRs were registered under BNS sections 175 (false statement with connection to an election) and 336(2)(4) (forgery), as well as IT Act section 66(c) and (d) that deal with identity theft and cheating, as well as under provisions of the Representation of People Act.

This comes days after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) general secretary Vinod Pandey wrote to the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) regarding the social media accounts and alleging a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. In response, Jharkhand CEO K Ravi Kumar wrote a letter on November 11 saying that the state police’s Cyber Crime police station has asked Meta for details of the administrator of these pages and for their posts to be taken down.

This comes amid Assembly elections in Jharkhand, where the first phase of polling was held on Wednesday and the second phase will be held on November 20.

On Wednesday, CM Soren took to X and alleged that “crores of rupees” were being spent on Facebook advertisements by the BJP to damage his and the state’s image through a “shadow campaign”.

“In the last 30 days, advertisements and paid boosts worth Rs 72 lakh have been done from various accounts like ‘Jharkhand Chaupal’ and ‘Ranchi Chaupal’. If you see the content of these pages, you will understand that their sole purpose is to tarnish my and the state’s image, spread religious frenzy and make people fight among themselves,” the CM wrote.

Rejecting the allegations, the BJP has said that it does not control all platforms that criticise the Soren government. The recent FIR cites several posts, including one made on November 4 that purportedly claimed that Soren was responsible for “propagating love jihad” in the state.

The FIRs against Ranchi Chaupal stated that on November 3 a photo of JMM Ranchi candidate Mahua Manjhi was shared, calling her a “Bangladeshi who supports terrorism and does divisive politics”. Ranchi SSP Chandan Kumar Sinha told The Indian Express that an investigation was underway in the three FIRs.

Sources in the Crime Investigation Department, which looks after cybercrime in the state, said, “We have sent requests to Meta, asking for login-logout usage-specific IP address details of the associated Facebook account and registered mobile number, among other details. They are yet to respond to the requests for account records, blocking, and takedown of posts. It will take some time.”

BJP spokesperson Ajay Shah said several social media platforms support the BJP out of “genuine love and respect” and that the party did not control them. “Also, there are numerous public spirited platforms that criticise the Hemant government out of anguish and frustration. However, we do not control or oversee all such platforms,” he said.