FIR against AAP's Raghav Chadha for 'defaming' Yogi

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raghav Chadha was booked here on Sunday for allegedly posting a tweet defaming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, police said.

An FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by UP-based lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao at the Sector 20 police station in Noida, a police official said.

When contacted over WhatsApp after his phone number was found switched off, Chadha did not respond to the PTI query.

The case has been lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 500 (defamation), 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) and under Section 66 (offensive messages through a computer or any other communication device like a mobile phone) of the Information Technology Act, according to the FIR.

His (Chadha's) malicious and deliberate act is not only dangerous to the maintenance of law and order but also it will create panic among the people who are going to their native places at this time due to coronavirus epidemic, Patel claimed in his complaint, citing a tweet allegedly posted by Chadha.

When last checked by PTI, the tweet mentioned in the FIR did not appear on the AAP MLA's timeline, although a screenshot of the purported post was circulating on social media.

The case comes amid thousands of migrant daily wage earners from Delhi and nearby areas gathering en masse at Anand Vihar on UP border leaving for their home towns and villages due to the 21-day countrywide lockdown called by the Centre with an objective to contain the spread of coronavirus.