Assam: LoP Debabrata Saikia Files Cyber Crime Complaint Over Morphed Defamatory Posts on Facebook

Guwahati: Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has lodged a formal complaint with the Cyber Crime wing of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), accusing unknown individuals of spreading digitally altered and slanderous content targeting him on Facebook.

In his written submission to the Special Director General of Police, Saikia detailed that multiple Facebook pages and profiles disseminated fabricated images and false statements on November 11. These posts falsely claimed that he had issued an apology for disclosing land ownership information purportedly connected to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and his family members within the Tribal Belt region. The content also suggested that Saikia was protecting land dealings involving Minister Ashok Singhal and a company associated with his relatives.

Saikia condemned the material as deliberately engineered to tarnish his reputation, labelling it "baseless, deceptive, and libellous," and warned that it could inflict lasting damage on his personal and professional standing.

The complaint invokes relevant legal provisions, including defamation under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023; forgery and dissemination of forged electronic records under Section 336(4) of the BNS 2023; and violations of the Information Technology Act, 2000, specifically Sections 66A and 67 concerning the transmission of objectionable electronic content.

Saikia has called on the CID to immediately file a First Information Report (FIR), trace the operators behind the implicated Facebook accounts, compel Meta to delete the offending posts, and secure all related digital evidence. He provided screenshots and web links to the posts as evidentiary support.

"This deliberate spread of falsehoods stems from clear malice. Online intimidation of this nature must not go unaddressed," Saikia emphasised in his communication.

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