UP: FIR filed over alleged illegal use of Smiri Irani's picture by developer

An FIR has been lodged on a complaint by Union Minister Smriti Irani's aide that her picture was used by a developer without her consent in an advertisement, police said on Wednesday. Irani's private secretary Vijay Gupta had written to the Superintendent of Police, Khyati Garg complaining that a local paper had published an advertisement by Sai Green City, Jagdishpur which had used the pictures, names and designations of some eminent people including Irani to sell plots.

"The letter in this connection stressed that the name and picture of the MP (Irani) has been used in the advertisement without her consent for attracting buyers," SP Garg said. Through the letter, a demand for action has been made and FIR has been lodged in Jagdispur Police Station against some unknown persons and investigations are on, Garg added.

Inquiries are on with the MD of the Sai Green City, Virendra Vidhi, his partner Sonu Yagya Saini, gram pradhan Abhay Pratap Singh and others, the SP said. Using the picture, name and post of a peoples' representative without his/her consent is a crime, the SP said.

Besides Irani, the name and picture of Uttar Pradesh minister Suresh Pasi and outgoing district unit president of the BJP Durgesh Tripathi have also been used in the advertisement. Congress leader and MLC Dipak Singh had highlighted the matter through a tweet saying it had not yet been a year since Irani won Amethi and she was already selling plots by giving advertisements in newspapers.