A political storm over screenshots purportedly showing a private conversation involving Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP from Krishnanagar, Mahua Moitra, escalated on Thursday, with the West Bengal Police accusing the Noida police of obstructing attempts to detain a man alleged to have circulated the material.
Meanwhile, Moitra has denied that the screenshots depict her chats, calling them “forged and fabricated”.
Allegations Of Police Obstruction Surface
In posts on X, Moitra shared two videos alleging that Amit Malviya, the BJP IT department in-charge, intervened when a West Bengal Police team travelled to Noida to arrest the accused.
She claimed that Malviya called the Noida police while officers from West Bengal were at the accused’s residence and further alleged that the Noida police “helped the accused abscond”.
“West Bengal Police went to execute a warrant. See how the accused calls BJP troll army chief Amit Malviya, who threatens Noida police with, ‘Aap kuch nahi karenge (you will not do anything)’. Everything is caught on video, so Noida police should stop lying,” Moitra said.
Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district, which includes Noida, said the accused was not at home when officers arrived at his flat.
On Wednesday, Malviya responded to the controversy, saying, “This morning, the West Bengal Police landed unannounced at the Noida residence of a journalist… That they could not arrest him is another matter altogether. But a fundamental question arises — who decides whether these chats are fake or genuine? Certainly not the Krishnanagar police.”
Meanwhile, Cyber Crime Wing of the West Bengal Police accused their counterparts in Noida of preventing them from carrying out their duties.
Noida police said they had moved to assist the visiting team. “The station in charge of Sector 110 immediately responded, and the team raided the flat in question. The warrantee was not found at the scene,” officials said.
Meanwhile, Krishnanagar police accused their counterparts in Noida of preventing them from carrying out their duties.
Noida police said they had moved to assist the visiting team. “The station in charge of Sector 110 immediately responded, and the team raided the flat in question. The warrantee was not found at the scene,” officials said.
Takedown Notices To X
The Cyber Crime Wing of the West Bengal Police issued urgent takedown notices to X, seeking removal of what it described as “sexually explicit” content, citing the need to protect the privacy of an elected representative.
Moitra had filed a complaint dated February 7 at Kotwali police station in Krishnanagar, alleging circulation of “fabricated” chat screenshots and their reposting on X.
“The posts are derogatory, sexually harassing and aimed to slander and hurt my dignity as a woman. This is being done purposefully and with malicious intent,” the complaint read. She also named five social media handles and sought action.
Subsequently, an FIR was registered under sections related to sexual harassment, stalking, cyberstalking, counterfeiting, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, defamation, forgery for harming reputation, criminal conspiracy, and provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Earlier, on February 6, the Cyber Crime Wing had issued a notice to X under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, directing it to remove the content. The notice said certain handles were “sharing private, intimate and sexually explicit chat messages (including personal and private conversations) of a sitting MP of India… This act… constitutes a serious criminal offence under Indian law.”
