The Ahmedabad Police have arrested Gujarat Congress leader Hiten Pithadiya for sharing an obscene picture of a porn hero, projecting him as the priest of the under-construction Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh police have also initiated action against the leader for malicious posts against the Ram Mandir priest.
On 11th December, Congress party leader Hiten Pithadiya shared some inappropriate photographs on social media and claimed that the person in the photographs was Mohit Pandey from Ghaziabad, who has been recently appointed as the priest for the Ram Lalla Temple being built in Ayodhya. Notably, since Pandey’s appointment, a malicious campaign has been running against him on social media.
Apart from Pithaidya, several other X handles shared the same fake photos.
Pithadiya is the head of the Scheduled Caste Morch of Gujarat Congress. In his post on X, he posted photographs of a person seen in an objectionable position with a woman. He wrote, “Is this the priest of Ayodhya Ram Temple?”
The assertions were made based on the fact that the person in the photographs was wearing tilak and sandalwood. Earlier, real pictures of Pandey were shared on social media where he was wearing tilak and sandalwood. Pithadiya and others made fake claims based on the common factors of tilak and sandalwood. In reality, the person in the photograph was not Pandey.
Following the controversy, Hindus on social media shared screenshots of the objectionable tweets. They urged police in Ayodhya and Ahmedabad to take strict action against those spreading the disinformation against Mohit Pandey.
प्रभारी निरीक्षक साइबर सेल को आवश्यक जॉच व नियमानुसार विधिक कार्यवाही हेतु निर्देशित किया गया।
— AYODHYA POLICE (@ayodhya_police) December 12, 2023
It was evident that Pithadiya shared the photographs because of his bias against the Ram Temple and the newly appointed priest Mohit Pandey. Following the backlash, Pithadiya deleted his tweets. However, by that time, the damage was done. Both Ayodhya Police and Ahmedabad Police initiated action against Pithadiya.
Journalist Janak Dave said in a post on X that Ahmedabad Cyber Cell arrested Pithadiya under Sections 469, 509, 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant IT Act.
कांग्रेस नेता हितेन्द्र पिठाड़िया की गिरफ़्तारी.
— Janak Dave (@dave_janak) December 12, 2023
IPC 469, 509,IPC 295A और IT act के तहत मामला दर्ज. https://t.co/Ju8tfynPfO pic.twitter.com/GeZrL25633
The Cyber Crime Branch of the Ahmedabad police apprehended the Congress leader on charges of disseminating manipulated images featuring a woman and the Ayodhya priest on various social media platforms.
Verifying the information, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Ajit Rajian informed Deccan Herald that Hitendra Pithadiya has been arrested on charges of sharing deepfake images of the woman. The charges include 469 (forgery), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of a woman), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), and relevant sections of the Information and Technology Act.
Who is Mohit Pandey
Mohit Pandey is a young priest selected to serve at the Ram Lalla Temple built in Ayodhya. Pandey studied at the Dudheshwar Vedic University in Ghaziabad for seven years. He earned his Shastri degree, equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree, from Shri Venkateshwara Vedic University, associated with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in Tirupati. He completed his master’s degree while studying Samaveda. Furthermore, he is also a scholar of the Ramanandi tradition and has expertise in Vedas, Shastras and Sanskrit.
