Police vs police: Screenshot storm brews in Bengal, Mahua claims Noida cops and BJP shielded accused

Police in UP’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district, under which Noida falls, said the man was not at his residence when they reached there.

The Cyber Crime Wing of the West Bengal Police, meanwhile, issued urgent takedown notices to X, demanding that the social media platform remove the content, which it described as “sexually explicit”, to protect the privacy of a people’s representative.

Hello @timesofindia your article is incorrect. @noidapolice lying. Accused was home when police arrived & then escaped with help of Noida cops after making few political calls (to Malpua) . Here is video of him when cops arrived. https://t.co/zp1TtGOV4n pic.twitter.com/5ssRXJ9gko

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 12, 2026

The Lok Sabha member from Krishnanagar filed a complaint dated February 7 at Kotwali police station in her constituency against the circulation of “fabricated” chats screenshots and their reposting on X. “The posts are derogatory, sexually harassing and aimed to slander and hurt my dignity as a woman. This is being done purposefully and with malicious intent,” read the complaint. She also mentioned five social media handles by name and requested immediate action.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered under sections pertaining to sexual harassment, stalking, cyberstalking, counterfeiting, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, defamation, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation, and criminal conspiracy, as well as under the IT Act.

The Cyber Crime Wing had already issued a notice to X on February 6, under section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, asking it to remove the content.

It told X that handles on the platform were “sharing private, intimate and sexually explicit chat messages (including personal and private conversations) of a sitting Member of Parliament of India. The chats are unverified, appear to have been obtained without consent, and are being circulated with derogatory and humiliating captions. The posts are rapidly going viral and are causing serious harm to the privacy, dignity, reputation and safety of the elected representative. This act of non-consensual publication of private intimate communication constitutes a serious criminal offence under Indian law.”

It also told the platform to submit an action taken report within 36 hours of receipt of the notice.

Police said they acted on several complaints regarding the matter. “It’s not just one complaint… The Cyber Crime Wing deals with cyber cases across Bengal. We can say that a post is fake after conducting a proper inquiry. But if it is sexually explicit, it requires immediate action, especially when it is being shared that widely. This case required prompt action,” said an officer.

The controversy escalated on Thursday, when Moitra posted two videos on social media purportedly showing a man standing at the door of his flat and speaking to another person over the phone, while police personnel waited outside. In one of the videos, a policeman was seen receiving a call.

“West Bengal Police went to execute a warrant. See how the accused calls BJP troll army chief Amit Malviya, who threatens Noida police with, ‘Aap kuch nahi karenge (you will not do anything)’. Everything is caught on video, so Noida police should stop lying,” Moitra claimed.

On Wednesday, Maviya had said, “This morning, the West Bengal Police landed unannounced at the Noida residence of a journalist. The purpose was clear: to arrest him for allegedly sharing chats… The contention, conveniently advanced, is that the chats were ‘fake’. That they could not arrest him is another matter altogether. But a fundamental question arises — who decides whether these chats are fake or genuine? Certainly not the Krishnanagar police.”

He also accused West Bengal Police of “discarding constitutional safeguards and due process with alarming ease”.

“For offences carrying a sentence of up to seven years, the law mandates a compulsory notice for appearance. Despite this clear legal position, the West Bengal Police, fully aware that (the man) resides outside their jurisdiction, issued a notice demanding appearance within 24 hours, without providing even basic time to make travel arrangements. This was swiftly followed by a hurried move to obtain a warrant, demonstrating a ‘lightning speed’ conspicuously absent in far graver crimes,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, Krishnanagar police accused their counterparts in Noida of preventing them from discharging their duties. In a post on its X handle, the Krishnanagar police district posted, “Our team, with full cooperation of the Uttar Pradesh Police, executed the warrant and detained the accused on 10.02.2026. Thereafter, following external communications by certain political functionaries, the team was taken to the local police station, and lawful proceedings were interrupted, enabling the accused to abscond.”

They said they were continuing efforts to apprehend the accused, and that “preliminary digital forensic examination by the Cyber Cell has conclusively established that the circulated ‘chat screenshots’ are forged and fabricated. Evidence indicates a larger conspiracy behind their creation and dissemination. Investigation is proceeding strictly as per law.”

A senior officer of Krishnanagar police district said that a “Notice for Appearance” was issued on February 7 to the person “regarding the circulation of forged chat screenshots”. “Upon non-compliance, a warrant was duly issued by the CJM Nadia,” said the officer.

According to police in Noida, they had set out to assist the West Bengal Police team that arrived to serve a warrant on Tuesday. “The station in charge of Sector 110 immediately responded, and the team raided the flat in question. The warrantee was not found at the scene. The warrantee’s wife was informed of the warrant. A search was conducted nearby, and inquiries regarding his whereabouts yielded no significant information. The West Bengal Police was provided with all the required cooperation, and the necessary courtesy was also observed by the local police station,” the officials said.

(With inputs from ENS, New Delhi)