Mohali FIR Over Posts on Realty Firm Sparks Row With Canadian Journalistsਮੁਹਾਲੀ ਦੀ ਰੀਅਲ ਅਸਟੇਟ ਕੰਪਨੀ ਬਾਰੇ ਪੋਸਟਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਐੱਫ਼ਆਈਆਰ, ਕੈਨੇਡੀਅਨ ਪੱਤਰਕਾਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਵਾਦ

A Punjab Police cybercrime case over social media posts about a Mohali business group has become a cross-border row, with Canadian journalists and commentators saying a foreign police force is reaching into their work. The police say nobody has been named as an accused in the FIR.

What the FIR says

The case is FIR No. 29, registered on 13 October at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Sector 79, SAS Nagar (Mohali), under Section 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (criminal defamation) and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, according to the Tribune and ETV Bharat. It was registered on a complaint by advocate Paras Sharma, who represents GB Realty Group, a Chandigarh-based business group with real estate projects in Mohali and New Chandigarh.

In the complaint, Sharma alleged that unidentified people had spread false rumours about the company and its managing director on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other platforms, linking the company to an alleged fraud in Canada. He called the allegation "false and baseless" and asked the police to identify those responsible and have the content removed and the accounts blocked, ThePrint reported.

35 accounts, or none named?

The Tribune and ETV Bharat reported the case as one against 35 social media accounts, including those of Punjabi and Canadian journalists and immigration consultants. ThePrint said the complainant's counsel handed in a list of 109 posts by influencers and journalists. It also reported that Punjab Police wrote to platforms such as X and Instagram asking them to take the content down under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act.

On Saturday, SAS Nagar SSP Varun Sharma told Babushahi that the FIR was registered against unknown persons. He said the names circulating publicly appeared in an annexure submitted by the complainant and are not named as accused in the FIR, and that the matter is under investigation. An FIR is not a finding of guilt.

The Canada connection

The posts the company objects to cited Canadian media reports on student financial aid in Ontario. The Tribune reported that Ontario has referred a matter involving student aid at private career colleges to the Ontario Provincial Police after a preliminary audit flagged possible systemic irregularities, and that the province has asked KPMG for a wider review. ETV Bharat noted that no allegations against any party have been proven at this stage.

ThePrint reported that the company's counsel denies any link to that matter. Canadian journalist Harrison Faulkner said his X profile was listed in a takedown order and called it a foreign police force reaching into a Canadian newsroom, ETV Bharat reported. Chandigarh-based commentator Shivrattan Dhillon said he would face the complaint. The row comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned Canada visit in December, ThePrint noted.

What is FIR No. 29 in Mohali about?

It is a cybercrime case over social media posts that allegedly defamed GB Realty Group by linking it to a fraud in Canada, which the company's counsel calls false.

Has anyone been named as an accused?

Mohali SSP Varun Sharma says the FIR is against unknown persons and that names in the public domain are from the complainant's annexure.

Why are Canadian journalists involved?

Some of the posts and accounts cited by the complainant are linked to Canadian journalists and commentators, who say the action targets work done on Canadian soil.