UP minister's brother booked for using photos of PM Modi, Yogi Adityanath to promote mobile brand

A case of cheating has been registered against the brother of an Uttar Pradesh minister for allegedly using photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to promote a mobile phone brand.

Police officials requesting anonymity said an FIR was registered against Lalit Agarwal on December 26 at the Hazratganj Police Station in this regard.

Lalit Agarwal is the brother of Kapil Dev Agarwal, UP's Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Vocational Education and Skill Development.

The opposition Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

When contacted, Kapil Dev Agarwal told PTI, "My brother is being made a soft target. There is no merit in the case, and he will be cleared of all the charges."

According to reports, Lalit Agarwal, who runs an advertising agency, had put up the photographs of Prime Minister Modi and UP Chief Minister Adityanath on a hoarding in the run-up to launching of a mobile phone brand.

The launch took place on December 22. As questions were raised about the photos, they were removed from the hoarding by the advertising agency on December 26. It had also apologised over the matter.

Meanwhile, UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu demanded that the matter be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

"The way in which in the garb of 'vocal for local', a minister held a press conference on the launch of a mobile phone, and told the public that along with being fully 'swadeshi', it is part of the skill development scheme (kaushal vikaas yojana), proves that corruption is at its peak in Uttar Pradesh," he said in a statement in an apparent reference to Kapil Dev Agarwal.

"This incident should be probed by the CBI, and people behind the scene should also be unmasked," he added.