Social media user facing Goa govt complaint responds: ‘Misuse of law to shut down criticism’

“It is unfortunate that instead of acting on complaints by thousands of tourists on social media regarding various tourist scams they faced in Goa, which by the way I did not highlight, and merely shared publicly available data which I also cited, the authorities are trying to intimidate me with a baseless police case. They should have put the correct data out there if they think my cited data is wrong instead of what appears to be a misuse of law to shut down criticism. I will counter this intimidation through legal means,” he said.

Earlier this week, Mukherjee’s post on X about the state of tourism in Goa had prompted several other travellers to chime in with their own negative experiences from the state.

In the police complaint, the deputy director of tourism Rajesh Kale said that Mukherjee “disseminated false data through his social media X handles, thereby causing significant annoyance to local businesses and inducing fear or alarm within the local community”.

The complaint said, “The propagation of such false statements not only jeopardises the reputation of our state but also poses a serious threat to public tranquillity. The Department of Tourism is particularly concerned that these actions may be part of a hidden agenda aimed at undermining Goa’s state image.”

The complaint further stated that the entrepreneur “referenced China Economic Information Center (CEIC) data in his post; however, the credibility of this data is questionable as he neither consulted with the Department of Tourism prior to posting nor validated the data he collected.”

“His false assumptions regarding future tourist footfalls in Goa further exacerbate the situation. The statements… appear to have the intent to cause public unrest and may induce individuals to commit offences against the State or against public tranquillity,” it added.