Twitter’s India head has been sent a legal notice by the Uttar Pradesh Police for “provoking communal unrest” on the assault on a Muslim man in Ghaziabad earlier this month.

Managing director of Twitter in India Manish Maheshwari has been asked to come to the police station at Loni Border within seven days to record statements, reported news agency ANI.

“Some people used their Twitter handle as a tool to spread hatred in the society and Twitter Communication India and Twitter Inc did not take any action against it. They let the anti-social messages go viral,” the notice sent to Maheshwari read.

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The comes just days after Twitter, several journalists and Congress leaders were named in an FIR in Ghaziabad after an elderly Muslim man alleged that he was assaulted on June 5.

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An old man alleged that his beard was cut off and he was thrashed because of his religion by a group that assaulted him. UP Police say there was nothing communal about the incident and both parties knew each other.

This is the first case against the social media giant after the government’s new rules for online news publishing platforms came into effect. The microblogging site has lost the legal shield as it failed to comply with the new IT rules.

“Twitter can face liability for penal action against any Indian law just like any other publisher. They did not flag a video (linked to the case) as manipulated media,” sources said.

Twitter, on its part, says it has appointed an interim Chief Compliance Officer as mandated by the centre’s new laws.