Ballia, 10 Dec (HS): The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed an FIR against a local leader in this district for allegedly removing the face of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from a photograph and publishing it on social media.

According to Bairia SHO Dharam Veer Singh, a complaint has been filed against Manoj Kumar Singh, a resident of Karn Chhapra village in the Dokati Thana district who claims to be a BJP member. Dhananjay Kumar Singh, another resident, filed a complaint about this.

According to Dhananjay Kumar Singh, a photo of Adityanath receiving a file from Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra was widely circulated in the media. Manoj Kumar Singh altered the image, removing the chief minister and replacing it with a shot of himself with the chief secretary.

On November 22, Dhananjay Kumar Singh stated, Manoj uploaded the modified image on Facebook. Dhananjay Kumar Singh filed a complaint with the superintendent of police, who ordered an inquiry after registering the case on December 7. The police are investigating the situation.

Manoj Kumar Singh has contested MLA election from the Bairia assembly seat twice, once as an Independent and in 2022 polls as a Congress candidate. The FIR was filed under Indian Penal Code Section 420 (fraud) and Information Technology Amendment Act Section 66D.

Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi