Objectionable social media post on PM: Cyber Police finds cognizable offence, says Odisha BJP

The Cyber Police in Bhubaneswar registered a case against unknown persons on the basis of a complaint recently filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which alleged that objectionable posts against Prime Minister Narendra Modi were found on a Facebook handle ‘BJD Odisha’ run by the IT cell of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The case has been lodged under Section-294 of IPC and Section-67 of the IT Act, the BJP said on Monday. 

Moreover, the Cyber Police has started an investigation into the matter by sending the digital documents of the social media handle and postings to Meta to trace the sources.  

Speaking on the issue, BJP leader Pitambar Acharya said, “We had filed a complaint at the Bhubaneswar Cyber Police Station on the issue on January 10. Though it was late, the Cyber Police registered a case under Section-294 of the IPC and Section-67(A) of the IT Act. Both are cognizable offences.”

Also Read: Odisha BJP accuses BJD of abusing PM Modi on social media, files police complaint 

Acharya observed that Section-67(A) of the IT Act has a provision of a jail term of five years for the accused, apart from a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh.   

However, no response has been received from the BJD in this regard.