The Karnataka Police on Tuesday, 27 June, filed a First Information Report against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell chief Amit Malviya over a "false" video he uploaded of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The FIR was filed in Bengaluru on the complaint of Ramesh Babu, co-chairman of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Communication and Social Media Department, The Indian Express reported.
The complainant accused Malviya of "conspiring to create enmity among voters” by allegedly spreading fake information. The complaint was based on Malviya's tweet shared on 17 June, which contained an animated video purportedly featuring a cartoon of Gandhi.
The case against Malviya has been filed under Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Babu alleged that statements like "Rahul Gandhi is dangerous and playing an insidious game" and "more dangerous are people who are pulling strings of #Raga like Sam P(itroda), staunchly anti India, they leave no stone unturned to defame India overseas, just to embarrass Hon’ble PM @narendramodi ji" are not only defamatory, but also incite hatred.
On 19 June, Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge and Babu had filed a complaint against Malviya, BJP chief JP Nadda, and BJP Chandigarh President Arun Sood over the video.
"In the video shared by Mr. Amit Malviya, Shri Rahul Gandhi has been made a target of a malicious and false 3D animated video… with a clear and malicious intent of not only tarnishing Shri Gandhi’s and INC’s reputation, but to instigate communal discord, and misrepresent the party and its leaders’ persona," the complaint stated, as per The Indian Express.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)