Pune: Man held for creating fake profile of minister on social media

The cyber cell of Pune Police has arrested a 30-year-old man here for allegedly creating a fake account in the name of a Maharashtra minister on a social networking site and posting objectionable content on it.

The accused, Ruturaj Nalawade (30), a resident of Junnar tehsil in Pune district, allegedly created the fake profile on the site in the name of food and civil supplies minister Girish Bapat and also posted his photos on it, an official from the police's cyber cell said today. Sunil Mane, the publicity consultant of Bapat who manages the BJP leader's social media accounts, said he registered a case with police after he came across the account in which the objectionable posts and pictures were posted.

"The person used Bapat's photos for creating the account and projected it as 'genuine'. He also sent friend requests to people who are known to the minister," said Mane. He said some of the people even accepted the friend request presuming it was coming from Bapat, who is also the
guardian minister of Pune district.

"The person then started putting some objectionable posts on the page," Mane said, adding that taking cognisance of the fake profile he approached the cyber cell and registered a case against the man. The police official from the cyber cell said after receiving the complaint, they sought details of the account from the social networking site and arrested Nalawade last night.

Nalawade has been booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, he said. Under section 500 of IPC, a person faces imprisonment for up to two years. "We are investigating the person's motive behind
creating such fake profile," the official said.