22 booked for sending Digvijay hate messages

Twenty-two people who used websites to allegedly post "highly offensive" content against Congress leader Digvijay Singh will face a criminal case following a complaint filed by him.

The Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police's Crime Branch registered a case under Section 66 of IT Act, which deals with punishment for sending offensive messages through communication services, on September 29.

The registration of the case came after after 44-days of investigations into a complaint filed by Singh's lawyer Rohit Kochar on August 16 during which police prima facie found a case against those 22 people, a senior police official said.

Singh sought police action for causing "severe damage to his goodwill and reputation besides inflicting acute mental pain and agony on "him, his family, friends and colleagues".

"The same is also causing grave damage and injury to the reputation, goodwill and image of the Congress party to which Singh is the General Secretary," the complaint said.

Singh had sought registration of a case against 22 people and eight websites alleging that they have committed serious criminal offences against him by using computers to send  and post "highly offensive, menacing, annoying, insulting and injurious content, messages, pictures and other data".

Sixty-four-year-old Singh has courted controversy at regular intervals with remarks on Hindutva terror, Batla House encounter, Maoism and Home Minister P Chidambaram.

In his complaint, Singh alleged that several known and unknown persons have been posting hatemails, pictures and other "disparaging and defamatory" content against him  which is "grossly offensive, menacing in character and is designed to cause annoyance, insult and injury to his reputation.