A case was registered against an Azamgarh youth on Monday for widely circulating a post which originated from a fake Twitter handle created in the name of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the police said.

Police said that Avkush Singh, a resident of Azamgarh, lodged a complaint with the UP Police on Saturday alleging that someone created the fake Twitter account in the name of Wing Commander Varthman. A tweet praising Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan originated from this fake Twitter handle, the police said.

A senior police officer said intelligence agencies and the cyber cell joined the police in probing the matter. The probe revealed there was a fake account in the name of the wing commander and a post praising the Pakistan PM was tweeted from it.

Police said the probe revealed one Ankur Arya took screenshot of the tweet and posted the same on his Facebook page. The police sent an application to Twitter for closing the fake account.

Inspector Vinay Kumar Mishra said a case was registered against Ankur Arya and an unidentified person under relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act following a complaint regarding the fake account.

Mishra said steps required for closing the fake twitter account had already been taken.

First Published: Mar 05, 2019 11:35 IST