Bengaluru, 21 May

An FIR was registered against BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya and Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami for allegedly running false information, police said.

The case was registered at High Grounds police station on Tuesday, based on the complaint from the Indian Youth Congress's legal cell head Shrikant Swaroop BN under section 192 (wantonly giving provocation with an intent to cause riot) and 352 (Intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.

Swaroop accused Malviya and Goswami of "masterminding a heinous and criminally motivated campaign to disseminate patently false information."

He alleged that the accused have "maliciously propagated the fabricated claim" that the Istanbul Congress Centre in Turkey is the office of the Congress.

"This act was executed with clear and undeniable criminal intent to deceive the public, defame a major political institution, manipulate nationalist sentiments, incite public unrest, and undermine national security and democratic integrity," he stated.

"The actions represent an unprecedented attack on India's democratic foundations, public safety, and national security. Their calculated misuse of influence to spread falsehoods with criminal intent demands the harshest response," the complainant alleged.

Swaroop also appealed to the Press Council of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, CBI and other law enforcement agencies to treat this complaint as an emergency. -