Surat: A BJP worker has filed a complaint against Youth Congress workers after they pasted stickers bearing allegedly derogatory messages on or beside images of Prime Minister Narnedra Modi and chief minister Bhupendra Patel on buses and autorickshaws.The complaint alleges that the accused made stickers that did not have details of the publisher and pasted them on images of the PM and CM in advertisements relating to govt schemes on GSRTC buses and autorickshaws.Mahidharpura police booked the Congress workers for forgery with an intent to harm reputation of person and criminal defamation under BNS and for violation of the Press and Registration of Books Act.Mukesh Mahatma, 59, a former ward president of BJP, filed a complaint against Congress workers Mehul Desai, Sohel Cyclewala, and others.Mahatma alleged that when he was at his office on Aug 6, he came across videos from ‘IYC_Gujarat’ and ‘Indian Youth Congress Surat’ handles on Instagram showing defamatory stickers being stuck on images of the PM and the CM. The stickers were pasted on advertisements for govt schemes on GSRTC buses at Surat bus station.Mahatma identified two of the accused and filed a complaint with Mahidharpura police against them and other workers. An FIR has been filed for criminal defamation, forgery with an intent to harm reputation of person or party, criminal defamation, criminal act by group of persons and other offences. Sections 3 and 12 of the Press and Registration of Books Act has also been invoked as the stickers did not bear the publisher’s name.
