MLA Jignesh Mevani booked for ‘defaming’ school through ‘fake’ video

A case was registered against Gujarat independent MLA Jignesh Mevani for allegedly sharing a fake video on social media and defaming a private school in Valsad through it, police said Saturday.

Mevani, who represents Vadgam Assembly constituency, had on May 20 shared a video on his Twitter account, showing a half naked school student being beaten up by someone, which he claimed, was a teacher of Valsad-based RMVM School.

Principal of the school, Vijal Kumari Patel, Thursday lodged a complaint against the legislator at Valsad town police station, saying the video that he circulated did not belong to her school and that he defamed her school and the teachers working there, an official of the police station said.

Based on her complaint, Mevani was booked under IPC sections 505 (2) (promoting rumour to create ill will) and 500 (defamation) he said.

In his May 20 post on the micro blogging site, which has since been removed, Mevani had shared a link of the video, and claimed that the teacher of Valsad’s RMVM School was involved in thrashing a student. He had even tagged the PMO in his tweet posted in Hindi.

“Barbarism of worst form...do not leave behind a single WhatsApp number or group and forward this video to all.

He is a teacher of Valsad’s RM VM School. Share this so many times that both the teacher and school shut down. This is a message I received. @PMOIndia tell us what is this” Mevani has apparently deleted the tweet after some Twitter users claimed that the video belonged to Egypt and not Gujarat.