FIR against unknown X user who ‘defamed’ Surat man by alleging Pakistan connection

In his complaint, Sinha stated that a verified X ID had defamed him by putting up a post in which his picture had been juxtaposed with that of another man to insinuate that he was a Pakistani citizen. In another post, the user had claimed that Sinha was in a relationship with a Pakistani journalist. In a third post, the accused had alleged that Sinha supplied important information to the journalist, claiming that she was an ISI agent.

Pandesara police lodged a complaint under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s (BNS) sections 352 (intentional insult that aims to provoke breach of peace or the commission of another crime) and 353(2) (statements conducing to public mischief).

Sinha told The Indian Express, “I came to know about such tweets while checking my social media account on May 21. I have been running a social media management consulting firm for the last five years. I have worked for political leaders, majorly from the BJP, on their social media platforms. Somebody wanted to harm my image.”

On his alleged connections with the Pakistani journalist, he said, “I participated in a podcast with her last year. My podcast photo was uploaded by the accused and it went viral. Now, everybody is asking me about it and I have to give clarification. Seeing no way out, I have lodged a police complaint.”

Pandesara police station inspector H M Gadhvi said, “We provided X ID details of the unknown accused to the company and have sought further information. Once we get the details, we will identify the accused and arrest them.”