Kalachowki Police Book YouTube Channel For Defaming Byculla Teacher

Kalachowki police registered a First Information Report on August 27 against an unidentified person for allegedly creating and broadcasting defamatory YouTube videos that falsely portrayed a 55-year-old photography teacher from Byculla as the husband of Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde.

According to the police, the owner of the YouTube channel "gk-shorts-videos" used photographs of the teacher and Tawde to create objectionable short videos intended to malign their reputations.

The complainant learned about the circulating content on August 26 after a woman residing on the first floor of his building sent him a YouTube link over WhatsApp. The link led to a short video uploaded under the channel name "ha.shorts-videos".

The FIR states that the video displayed detailed personal information about the Byculla resident, including his name, educational qualifications, profession, religion, hobbies, and family background. It featured Tawde’s photograph alongside his, falsely presenting him as her husband. The video appeared to have been published online on August 23.

The teacher told investigators that his photograph appeared to have been taken from his Facebook account, while the photograph of Tawde seemed to have been sourced from social media platforms.

Police inquiries revealed that the "gk-shorts-videos" channel was created on April 15. The channel had accumulated 1.53K subscribers and published 243 videos featuring various political leaders and film stars.

The complainant handed over screenshots of the defamatory video to the police. Investigators are now gathering internet protocol records to identify and track down the individual managing the channel.