Controversial stickers targeting PM Modi found on Ahmedabad govt hoarding; FIR filed

Ahmedabad: Controversial stickers with slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi were found pasted on a government hoarding in Ahmedabad, an official said on Monday. Acting on a complaint, police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons for pasting the controversial stickers on the government hoarding in the Navrangpura area on August 5, he said.

The stickers, later removed by police, were pasted on a government advertisement poster highlighting the PM Surya Ghar scheme, which carried Modi’s photograph, near a Railway crossing, according to the complaint.

They carried slogans targeting the PM over the recent students-led protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the NEET paper leak and participation of Gen Z in the agitation. The FIR stated that the hoarding was leased by a private firm through a tender process of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and it was a government property.

The complainant, a manager of the company handling the hoarding, said unidentified persons damaged the billboard’s frame, lighting and the original poster by pasting controversial stickers on the evening of August 5.

The total loss was estimated at Rs 26,500, according to the complaint. The FIR was registered at the Navrangpura police station on Sunday evening under Section 324(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to mischief causing property damage, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

“We have registered an FIR against unknown persons for pasting such posters. No one has been arrested so far,” Navrangpura police station Inspector NA Desai said. He said the controversial stickers have since been removed. Police are investigating the matter and efforts are underway to identify those responsible for putting up the stickers and damaging the hoarding, the Inspector added.