An FIR was registered on Tuesday against BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya and Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV, Arnab Goswami for allegedly running false information, police said.
The case was registered at High Grounds police station on the complaint of the Indian Youth Congress's legal cell head Shrikant Swaroop B N against the duo under section 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 352 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.
Swaroop accused Malviya and Goswami of "masterminding a heinous and criminally motivated campaign to disseminate patently false information." He alleged that the accused have "maliciously propagated the fabricated claim" that the Istanbul Congress Centre in Turkiye is the office of the Indian National Congress (INC).
"This act was executed with clear and undeniable criminal intent to deceive the Indian public, defame a major political institution, manipulate nationalist sentiments, incite public unrest, and undermine national security and democratic integrity," he stated.
Swaroop further stated that the actions of Malviya and Goswami are set against the volatile backdrop of strained relations between India and Turkey, driven by the latter's perceived support for Pakistan.
"The actions of Malviya and Goswami represent an unprecedented attack on India's democratic foundations, public safety, and national security. Their calculated misuse of influence to spread falsehoods with criminal intent demands the harshest response," the complainant alleged.
Swaroop also appealed to the Press Council of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, CBI and other law enforcement agencies to treat this complaint as a emergency.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.