A police complaint has been filed on Thursday at the behest of the Governor of Maharashtra with the Cybercrime Police Department at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, against a news portal named ‘News Uttarakhand’ for suggesting that he facilitated the transport of a model, allegedly named Jenni aka Jayanti, from Maharashtra to Dehradun via a special Army helicopter, amidst the Coronavirus lockdown.
Maharashtra Governor denies charges
On May 14, the official Twitter handle of the Governor of Maharashtra wrote, “The contents of the news are false, fabricated and based on nefarious design with an intent to malign the unblemished image of Hon’ble Governor.”
The news relates to the alleged facilitation of the travel of a model from Maharashtra to Dehradun enroute Delhi.
— Governor of Maharashtra (@maha_governor) May 14, 2020
The contents of the news are false, fabricated and based on nefarious design with an intent to malign the unblemished image of Hon’ble Governor. (4/4)
A case was registered under Sections 500 (defamation) and 501 (publishing defamatory content) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). An officer from the concerned police department informed that no such recommendation to facilitate such a special transport of a model, Jenni aka Jayanti, was given by the Governor’s House. He added that the police will seek permission from the court to investigate the matter.
The claims by the website
In the said news report, News Uttarakhand had alleged that the Maharashtra Governor had facilitated the special transport of the above-mentioned model.
The report claimed that Bhagat Singh Koshyari had used a special pass to facilitate the travel of a “beautiful model” from Maharastra to Delhi via an Army Helicopter and then to her house in Dehradun via an army car between April 24 and April 25. Mocking the Governor, the article said, “His greatness will bring tears to your eyes.” It further alleged that the model, Jayanti, was home quarantined along with her family after she reached Dehradun.
Towards the end of the article, the news portal had put up a disclaimer claiming that the article was automatically generated via a ‘computer program’ and “has not been created or generated by News Uttarakhand.” The source, Parvatjan, cited by the portal has deleted the story.
Rajbhavan officials have stated that no such incident has taken place and the story has been planted to defame, and blackmail the governor. Police officials have reportedly stated that the claims had no basis and appropriate action will be taken against the website and writers.
