The Delhi Police on Friday said that they had filed a first information report against journalist Vinod Dua for allegedly misreporting the communal violence that took place in the Capital in February and spreading fake news through his YouTube show, PTI reported.
The FIR against Dua was filed on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Naveen Kumar. The BJP leader accused Dua of spreading fake news through the “The Vinod Dua Show” on YouTube. Kumar also alleged that Dua had said the central government had done nothing to stop the violence in Delhi and called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “toothless”.
The complainant also referred to one of the episodes of Dua’s YouTube, where he talks about former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP and called his remarks degrading. He also alleged that Dua had said that the Vyapam scam took place in Madhya Pradesh when the saffron party was in power.
“The journalist Mr Vinod Dua has blatantly lied or has misinformed his viewers about the series of events,” Kumar said in his complaint. “There are also a series of old instances where bizarre and unfounded allegations have been made against the government, police and political leaders. The reporting is full of false content misleading context.”
After Kumar’s complaint, the police registered a case against Dua under sections 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code.
Dua, meanwhile, said that he had not been approached by the police. “Delhi Police is yet to get in touch with me about the complaint,” he told The Wire. “Once the police gets in touch, I will take the next course of action.”
The journalist is known for his sharply critical views on the Modi-led government. In 2018, he had sparked a huge controversy by saying that #MeToo movement had deflected attention from important questions in the months leading up to the Lok Sabha elections. He had also been accused of sexual harassment by documentary filmmaker Nishtha Jain.
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