Maharashtra: FIR registered after morphed image of civic official's wife gets circulated in WhatsApp groups

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The Bolinj Police in Palghar, Maharashtra, have registered a first information report (FIR) against unknown people for allegedly morphing the photo of a civic official's wife.

According to the police , the complainant, who is a senior civic official in Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), had approached the police after he noticed that a morphed photo of his wife was being circulated on four different WhatsApp groups.

"On November 18, the senior civic official had noticed that some morphed photos had been circulating on WhatsApp. According to the complainant, a photo with his wife's face had been morphed and then circulated on the groups," an officer said.

The official also got a message from an unknown person who claimed that he is well aware of the complainant's "illegal activities" and that if he did not stop them, then the accused will act according to their "will". The accused also allegedly threatened the civic official's wife.

Based on the complaint, the police filed a case under sections 351 ( criminal intimidations) and 356 ( defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

"We are using technical intelligence to trace the accused and are investigating the matter further, the officer added.