Man booked under IT Act for ‘defaming’ CM Devendra Fadnavis in tweet

MUMBAI: The Oshiwara police on Wednesday registered an FIR against one Ajay Hatewar for tweeting defamatory statements against chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and posting a picture of the CM enjoying a vacation with his family in 2011-2012.

He has been booked for defamation and also under Section 67 (A) of the IT Act.

Oshiwara police station's senior inspector Subhash Khanvilkar said a probe is on and details have been sought from the cyber cell on Hatewar and on where he is based, though investigators suspect he is from Nagpur.

The tweet and picture were posted from the Twitter handle (@AjayHatewar at 8.36am on July 2, and a mention, allegedly defamatory, was made linking the photo to the CM's recent US visit.

The police complaint was filed by BJP worker Sanjay Pandey who lives in Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri (W) after he received a Whatsapp message from a friend, Raju Yadav, providing a link to the tweet.

Pandey found that the picture showing the CM and his family on a yacht was clicked in 2011-12. "The tweet has linked the CM's old photograph with his recent official visit to the US for investment, and the man who has posted it has said the CM was enjoying there. This is a defamatory statement made to malign the CM's image," Pandey said.

Earlier this week, Nagpur BJP leader Dharampal Meshram lodged a complaint at the local Nandanvan police station against the same Twitter account holder for circulating the old photograph along with the allegedly defamatory statement. In the application, Meshram said the old photograph was shot a few years ago and was from the Fadnavis family's personal social media account.

However, the photograph was uploaded on social media platforms like WhatsApp at a time when the CM was in the US on an official visit to attract foreign investment. The complainant said circulation of such photographs was aimed at tarnishing the CM's image.

Meanwhile, BJP workers have decided to lodge complaints in the matter across the state.