MP home minister directs DGP to file FIR against Amazon officials, owner

Amid a row, the Madhya Pradesh government has directed the police to register an FIR against officials of e-commerce giant Amazon and its owner for allegedly selling products, including shoes, with the image of the Indian national flag, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday.

Amazon faced the ire of a section of Indian social media users over merchandising some products, including apparel and food items, that feature images of the Indian flag, with some saying that using the tricolour in such a way was an insult and a violation of the country’s flag code.

“It has come to my notice that our national flag is used on products being sold by the online e-commerce platform Amazon. It is intolerable that even it (the national flag) has been used on shoes,” Mishra, who is the state government spokesman, told reporters here. Prima facie, it is a violation of the National Flag Code, he said.

“I have directed Director General of Police (DGP) to file an FIR against Amazon’s officials and owner,” Mishra added. This is not the first time that the MP’s home minister has directed the police to file an FIR against Amazon. Last November, Mishra had ordered the filing of an FIR against officials of Amazon over the suicide of a youth from MP who allegedly obtained poisonous sulphas (used as an agricultural fumigant and is poisonous) tablets through the e-commerce site. The police in the Bhind district had registered an FIR against unnamed officials of Amazon India after busting a gang that allegedly supplied ganja under the guise of selling stevia (a natural sweetener) through the e-commerce portal. Amazon had on Monday said it remains committed to take necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products.

Amazon.in is an online marketplace where third-party sellers offer products for sale directly to customers, and as such is responsible for ensuring compliances associated with the sale of these products, it said.

”We require all products offered on the marketplace to comply with applicable laws and constantly take appropriate action on non-compliance. Amazon remains committed to taking necessary action against sellers who may have listed any non-compliant products,” the company said.