3 min readHyderabadUpdated: Jul 31, 2026 11:36 AM IST
Telangana’s cybercrime police have registered two cases over alleged morphed and objectionable social media content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests, naming operators of several Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as Meta India’s head.
Meta is yet to comment on the development.
The cases were registered on July 29 on complaints by BJP supporters who alleged that manipulated videos and images of PM Modi were circulated on social media. In Telangana, a Congress government under Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is in power.
The police are, however, tracing operators of the social media handles.
BJP spokesperson said N V Subhash “democracy permits disagreement not digital lynching”.
“We welcome criticism, political opposition and democratic debate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has perhaps faced more criticism than any other political leader in contemporary India. Criticism is not the issue. Organised and vulgar abuse masquerading as political activism is,” Subhash added.
‘Obscene, derogatory and misleading’
One of the complainants said 20 Facebook and Instagram accounts were allegedly using morphed content and sought action against Meta for hosting it.
“On behalf of Telangana BJP karyakartas, we seek an investigation into certain Instagram accounts that have been publishing and circulating content which, in our opinion, is derogatory towards the Prime Minister and appear to promote narratives that may be prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and public order of the nation,” the BJP functionary wrote in his complaint.
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He requested the police to identify the individuals operating the accounts and initiate legal action against them.
Another BJP supporter alleged that some Instagram handles circulated “obscene” videos and images. “I came across multiple morphed and digitally manipulated videos and images depicting the Prime Minister, US President and former Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan in an obscene, derogatory and misleading manner. Such content has the potential to mislead the public,” he wrote in his complaint.
The Telangana Police have invoked relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and IT Act, naming operators of identified accounts and Meta’s India head as co-accused.
Police sources said that all links cited in the complaints had become inactive by July 30.