Goa minister files police complaint against 'derogatory' social media post that links his name to woman deputy sarpanch

The office of Goa minister Mauvin Godinho on Sunday lodged a police complaint over a "derogatory and false" message being circulated along with photographs on social media linking his name to a woman deputy sarpanch of a village in the state, an official said.

The minister's personal secretary Nehal Damodar Keni lodged the complaint at Vasco police station, he said.

The complaint said that a derogatory and false message was being widely circulated on social media platforms from Saturday along with the photographs of Godinho with a woman deputy sarpanch of a village in Dabolim constituency.

Godinho, who belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), represents the Dabolim assembly segment. He handles Transport and Panchayat ministries.

The complaint further said, "The message is being circulated along with publicly available photographs of Godinho, thereby creating a wrong and erroneous impression to the readers about the attribution of the said message and photographs of Godinho." Keni said in the complaint that based on the message and the photographs, some unidentified persons have also created video.

"Certain politicians have also attempted to capitalise on this grossly wrong and erroneous impression created by the message to create unrest and derive political mileage out of this patently illegal and mischievous message," the complaint said.

When contacted, a senior police official said, "We have received the complaint and it is being investigated."