Bengaluru: The police in Bengaluru have booked two people, including a Bangladeshi journalist, for allegedly spreading fake news about the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and his mother and former Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, with the intention of maligning their public image.
An FIR filed at the High Grounds police station on Saturday has listed as the accused Salaha Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, a Bangladeshi journalist, and Aditi, who writes for social media handles of 'The Jaipur Dialogues', for sharing Choudhury's claims.
The complaint was lodged by Srinivas G, a law practitioner with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
Srinivas said Choudhury, on his X handle Salaha_shoaib, shared a post calling Sonia an ISI agent. He also alleged that Choudhury, with the intention of creating enmity between two religions, claimed in a post that Sonia still follows Christianity despite her inter-religious marriage.
Srinivas told the police that Choudhury falsely claimed in a tweet that Rahul, along with a foreigner friend, had sexually assaulted a woman.
He noted in his complaint that Aditi shared Choudhury's claims on social media, helping them to reach out to more people. The Jaipur Dialogues’ X account has 3.79 lakh followers.
The High Grounds police have booked a case under BNS Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and other sections dealing with statements conducing to public mischief.
A police officer monitoring the investigation told DH that the posts were being analysed to ascertain the complainant's claims.
‘Award-winning journalist’
Chaudhury claims on his X handle that he is the editor of BLiTZ Bangladesh, a media company, and an award-winning journalist. He calls himself a counter-terrorism specialist.
Published 01 September 2024, 20:52 IST