Fake instagram profiles lead to family discord and police complaint in Ahmedabad

In a case that underscores the growing misuse of social media platforms, a city businessman has filed a police complaint after fake Instagram accounts were allegedly used to defame his son and ruin his family life.

The complainant, 54-year-old Dhirubhai Valjibhai Bagda, a resident of Satellite and owner of a gift article business, informed the police that unknown individuals had created three fake Instagram profiles – “nishu\_12345678”, “nishupatel12345”, and “nishupatel1233” – and used them to send defamatory messages to his son, Chirag Bagda. According to Dhirubhai, these messages, which were posted on Chirag’s Instagram account (chirag.bagada11), falsely claimed that Chirag was having an affair with a woman named Nishu Patel and that she was pregnant by him.

The issue came to light on September 3, 2024, when Chirag’s second wife, Kinjal, confronted the family with printed copies of the alleged Instagram chats. Kinjal’s sister, Lakshmi Makwana, had reportedly accessed Chirag’s Instagram account using a laptop belonging to her son and printed the chats. These allegations, according to Dhirubhai, caused deep distress within the family.

Chirag, however, denied any affair or knowledge of Nishu Patel, asserting that the messages were part of a malicious campaign by an unknown person to damage his reputation and destroy his family life.

Following the complaint, the Crime branch has registered an FIR against unknown persons for defamation and causing mental distress through fake social media accounts. The investigating officer, Police Inspector Rasibhai Bhikhabhai, has been tasked with conducting a thorough probe to trace the individuals behind the fake Instagram IDs.