NAGPUR: The Nagpur Cyber Police have registered an FIR against four social media content creators over posts and videos targeting Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in connection with the ethanol-blended fuel (E20) debate.The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by BJP Nagpur City Social Media Cell convener Shishir Arun Tripathi, who alleged that the content contained false, misleading, defamatory and objectionable claims about Gadkari and the government’s ethanol policy.According to the FIR, the four content creators booked are: Manish Kashyap, ‘Desi Boys’, Harshit Rathi and Anklesh Inwati.According to the complaint, Manish Kashyap uploaded a YouTube video on July 3, 2026, allegedly containing false, defamatory and misleading statements regarding Gadkari and E20 fuel with the intent to mislead the public.The complaint further alleged that similar videos and posts were circulated through the Instagram accounts ‘Desi Boys’, Harshit Rathi and Anklesh Inwati, making what the complainant described as baseless and objectionable allegations against the Union minister.According to the complaint, the content had the potential to create confusion among citizens and disturb public peace.The complaint also alleged that some of the Instagram posts used obscene language against Gadkari and included edited videos and images intended to disturb public order.Based on the complaint and digital evidence submitted, the Nagpur Cyber Police registered FIR No. 0092/2026 under Sections 356, 352 and 296 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.Cyber police inspector Sudhir Borkute has registered the case and initiated an investigation.The FIR comes amid a political debate over E20 petrol.Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has urged the Centre to reconsider the rollout of E20 petrol for vehicles not designed to run on ethanol-blended fuel.He has also demanded that petrol pumps offer consumers a choice between pure petrol and E20-blended fuel and called for a reduction in the price of E20 fuel, arguing that it delivers lower mileage.
