Residents of the Nasirabad village in Rae Bareli district are in a state of distress.
Children and teenagers have been strictly warned against switching on the Internet but the elders are keeping a round the clock vigil on Facebook because a young man has been posting stories of his affairs with girls from this village on his wall.
“About two weeks ago, Facebook users in the village started getting friend requests from one Sahil Abbas. Since a boy with the same name existed in the village, almost all the requests were accepted by Facebook users from the village, especially who are studying or working outside,” says Rakesh Kumar, a school teacher and an avid Facebook user.
Suddenly, “Sahil Abbas” started posting absurd and vulgar comments about persons from different families of the village. He wrote cooked up stories and intimate details of his affairs with girls in the village. One girl was so upset with his posts that she even attempted suicide when her relative, working abroad, informed her of the comments about her.
“It became obvious that this mischief maker knew the village and its people very well and was using the inside information to target everyone. Some posts about married couples also caused disturbances in several families and finally we decided to approach the police,” says Murtaza who has now lodged a complaint in the cyber cell of the Lucknow police.
Though many villagers have blocked the user, some are still keeping a close watch on his posts. "We have strictly instructed the children not to sue Facebook but some of us are keeping a watch on the user’s activities," says Rakesh.