Mumbai: In an unexpected twist of events, popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee has found himself entangled in a legal battle after a parody account on X (formerly Twitter) posted false information about Anjali Birla, the daughter of BJP leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The Incident
The Maharashtra Police’s cybercrimes wing booked Rathee following a complaint from a relative of Anjali Birla. Using the handle @dhruvrahtee, the parody account falsely claimed that Anjali Birla had cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam without appearing for it.
Dhruv Rathee explanation
in an X post today Dhruv Rathee wrote to the Times of India and asked why his newspaper spreading fake news about me he further wrote that this post was done from some random parody Twitter account and I have nothing to do with this.
Legal Actions
A senior police official stated that Rathee has been charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for defamation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and making statements leading to mischief, along with relevant sections of the IT Act. Despite clarifications that the post originated from a parody account, the police are continuing their investigation.
Parody Account’s Clarification
The parody account’s bio clearly states that it is not affiliated with Dhruv Rathee: “This is a fan and parody account and not affiliated with the original account of @dhruv_rathee. Not impersonating anyone. This account is Parody.”
On Saturday, the parody account apologized and deleted all defamatory tweets about Anjali Birla, acknowledging the mistake of not verifying the facts before posting.
Ongoing Investigation
The Maharashtra cyber police are actively investigating the matter to determine the extent of the parody account’s impact and to clear Dhruv Rathee’s name from the allegations.
