Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Manmath Routray has come under fresh scrutiny after the Bhubaneswar Cyber Police registered a case against him for allegedly making objectionable remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
The action was initiated based on a complaint filed by the BJP Legal Cell, which accused Routray of sharing defamatory and misleading content on social media targeting the two leaders.
Police have booked Routray under Sections 294(2), 296, 353(2), and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as Section 67 of the IT Act, which deals with the transmission of offensive electronic material.
According to the complaint, Routray’s posts were derogatory and had the potential to “mislead the public and incite disharmony.” The BJP has also submitted videographs and photocopies of the alleged posts as evidence to the Cyber Police, urging immediate action.
Routray, a former Air India pilot, entered politics in 2023 after quitting his aviation career. He was the BJD candidate for the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections but lost to BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi by a margin of 35,152 votes.
