Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress MLA, Debabrata Saikia, has lodged a formal complaint with the Crime Investigation Department (CID) Cyber Crime wing, alleging the circulation of digitally manipulated and defamatory content about him on Facebook.
In his complaint addressed to the Special DGP, Saikia said that on November 11, several Facebook pages and accounts shared morphed images and fabricated statements. These posts falsely claimed that he had apologised for revealing details of land linked to MP Gaurav Gogoi and his relatives in the Tribal Belt. The posts also suggested that Saikia was trying to protect land acquisitions connected to Minister Ashok Singhal and his family-linked company.
Saikia described the content as “false, misleading and defamatory” and said it was created with the intention of harming his reputation and public image. “This misinformation has been created with malicious intent. Such online harassment cannot be ignored,” he stated in his complaint. 
According to the complaint, the posts may fall under several offences. These include defamation under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, forgery and use of forged digital material under Section 336(4) of BNS 2023, and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, including Sections 66A and 67, which relate to circulating harmful electronic information.
Saikia requested the CID to register a formal FIR, identify the administrators of the Facebook accounts involved, direct Meta (Facebook’s parent company) to remove the manipulated content, and preserve all digital evidence. He also provided screenshots and URLs of the posts to support his claims.
The CID Cyber Crime unit is expected to verify the complaint and begin a preliminary inquiry. Experts say the circulation of morphed political content on social media has been increasing in recent months, leading to growing calls for stricter monitoring and oversight to prevent misuse.
