Nagpur Cyber Police registers FIR against content creators for alleged defamation campaign targeting Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. File Image | Photo credit: PTI
The Nagpur Cyber Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against several social media content creators for allegedly running a defamatory digital campaign targeting Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
The legal action stems from highly controversial online posts regarding the government’s policy on ethanol (E20) fuel.
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Confirming the operational details of the police crackdown, Nagpur Joint Commissioner of Police Navinchandra Reddy outlined the extent of the ongoing criminal investigation.
“An offense has been registered based on a complaint received. The FIR mentions the names of the people involved and the nature of the posts as well as obscene or offensive comments made by some people. The police are currently investigating the matter…” Mr Reddy said.
The complaint was filed by BJP Nagpur City Social Media Cell Convener Shishir Arun Tripathi. According to the complaint, a YouTube video uploaded on July 3, 2026 by content creator Manish Kashyap allegedly contained false, defamatory and misleading statements regarding Mr. Gadkari and ethanol (E20) with intent to mislead the public.
The complaint further alleged that similar misleading videos and posts were circulated through other YouTube and Instagram accounts including ‘Desi Boys’, ‘Harshit Rathi’ and ‘Anklesh Inwati’, which the complainants described as baseless and disputed allegations against the Union minister.
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The complaint also alleged that the content could disturb public peace and cause confusion among citizens. Based on the complaint and supporting digital evidence submitted, Nagpur Cyber Police registered FIR No. 0092/2026 under Sections 356, 352 and 296 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, 2023 along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Center to reconsider the introduction of E20 petrol for vehicles that were not designed to run on ethanol fuel.
Published – 16 Jul 2026 07:15 IST