Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly files police complaint against his social media fan page

Sourav Ganguly (File pic)

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has filed a police complaint in Kolkata alleging that a social media fan page was attempting to malign his reputation.

Ganguly mentioned the name of the page as 'Sourav Ganguly fans' and claimed that it was attempting to malign his reputation.

Ganguly has alleged that such fabricated information is being circulated with the intent to damage his reputation. Following the complaint filed on June 15, police authorities have begun examining the matter.

The former Indian star also urged the police to handle the matter in a swift manner and take immediate action to prevent misuse of social media handles.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have filed similar complaints

Ganguly is not the first high-profile cricketer to find himself in the middle of misleading social media content. Back in 2023, batting star Sachin Tendulkar took action against an AI video of him circulating on social media back in 2023.

Tendulkar approached the Mumbai Police Crime Branch to file a complaint against unknown entities for hijacking his public identity to deceive internet users. Acting on his request, the Mumbai Police Cyber Cell filed a case under sections 420, 465, and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to track down the culprit.

Similarly, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has maintained a zero-tolerance policy against the use of his name in digital spaces. He has often turned to legal remedies to fight back against fabricated and slanderous posts that falsely attributed manufactured quotes and edited media to him without his knowledge or approval.

Legal documentation from the Delhi High Court reveals that Gavaskar filed a dedicated lawsuit to safeguard his personality rights, highlighting that a variety of websites and social networks were unlawfully leveraging his global recognition. Acknowledging the severity of the issue, the court issued direct orders to tech giants like Google, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter) to delete the offending materials and penalise the fraudulent profiles within a strict timeframe.

These ongoing disputes highlight the ongoing conflict between digital identity theft and sporting legends, demonstrating the importance of legal safeguards against antisocial elements on social media websites.