YouTuber in UP booked for defamatory content against IAS officer's family

Lucknow, July 3:  A Gonda-based YouTuber has been booked for allegedly posting a video containing objectionable information about the deceased parents of IAS officer Kinjal Singh, the police said.

Singh, a 2008-batch officer who is currently serving as the Director General of the Medical Education department, has lodged an FIR at Gomti Nagar police station against the YouTube channel named 'Usmaan Saifi Safar' which has 3.33 million subscribers.

Station House Officer, Gomti Nagar, Deepak Pandey, said, "On the IAS officer's complaint, an FIR was lodged under Section 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) of the IPC and Section 66 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008."

In her complaint, Singh alleged that Usman Saifi, also known as Usman Ali from Gonda, posted a video of 12 minutes and 30 seconds on his YouTube channel on June 20.

In the video, he discusses the murder of Kinjal Singh's father K.P. Singh, and the hardships faced by her mother and sisters. The video was viewed by more than 3.35 lakh people.

"The self-proclaimed journalist, Usman Saifi Safar, posted a misleading, false, imaginary, and objectionable video on his YouTube channel which contains fabricated and baseless information. This video deliberately defames my family by tarnishing the character of my late parents with false allegations. He has shared this misleading video on various social media platforms (like Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp), which also reached me," Singh said.

"The video was made without my family's consent. It is entirely based on false claims that the journalist concocted without any evidence or proof," she added.

"I have been receiving calls from family members and friends regarding the video which caused severe distress and mental pressure. The video is still being shared on social media, damaging my reputation," she alleged.