Malerkotla police register defamation case on Punjab ex-DGP Mohd Mustafa’s complaint

The Cyber Cell of Malerkotla police has registered a case and taken up an investigation into a defamation complaint filed by former Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Mohammad Mustafa.

Shamshudeen Chaudhary, a resident of Malerkotla, has been named in the FIR that also includes other “social media users”. Earlier, Chaudhary had locked horns with Mustafa after the death of the latter’s son, Aqil Akhter, under suspicious circumstances at his residence in Panchkula on October 16 last year.

The police said the suspects have been summoned to submit their responses.

The complainant, now a senior Congress leader, alleged the accused continued to post defamatory content about him and his family members, which is violation of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Mustafa added that accused and his unknown accomplices made the posts with an “ulterior motive” of maligning his reputation and defame female members of his family, including former minister Razia Sultana.

Manjot Singh, in-charge, Cyber Cell, has been tasked with verifying the allegations and initiating further action.

Chaudhary, however, denied the allegations and said he did not post any such content on his social media accounts. He is yet to submit a formal response to the police.

Cyber Cell officials said the case was registered under Sections 351 (2) (causing a threat to reputation), 356 (2) (defamation) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 66 C (dishonest use of digital credentials) and 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material) of the IT Act.

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