Congress Files Complaint Over KC Venugopal Consumed Alcohol Claim

The Congress on Friday lodged a complaint in Hyderabad against the fake claim that party general secretary KC Venugopal consumed alcohol in a restaurant.

The party further stated that he was consuming black tea and alleged that it was purposely done to "malign" Mr Venugopal's image.

"A fake news is being circulated by the account Befitting Facts. It falsely alleges that the black tea being consumed by KC Venugopal is alcohol in a restaurant. This has been purposely done to malign his image," the Congress posted on X.

The complaint has been lodged by Congress MLC Dr Venkat Narsing Rao Balmoor with the Cyber Crimes Police Station in Hyderabad.

"We have taken cognizance of this mischief, and Congress MLC Dr Venkat Narsing Rao Balmoor has lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crimes Police Station in Hyderabad," it added.

In the complaint, Congress identified an individual named Shashank Singh behind the spread of the fake news.

"This individual, Shashank Singh, had not only posted a false caption with the picture, but he had also tagged the Kerala Police and asked them to take action against KC Venugopal Ji," it said.

"This is a grave charge, especially since KC Venugopal ji is not only a highly reputed leader of the Indian National Congress, but he represents lakhs of Indian citizens in Parliament," the complaint said.

The case has been registered under Indian Penal Code, Sections 153A, 499/500 (defamation), 503 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hate, or ill will between classes).

The Congress further stated that the fake news won't be "tolerated" and the "guilty" will be made to bear the consequences.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)