Nagpur/New Delhi: In a chilling reminder of the shrinking space for free speech in the world’s largest democracy, Dalit social media influencer and YouTuber Mukesh Mohan is facing severe legal and administrative backlash. His apparent crime? Creating a video based on an investigative report by the renowned magazine The Caravan, which alleged links between a beef-trading company and the family of prominent BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.
Mohan has been slapped with a colossal Rs. 50 Crore defamation notice and is entangled in a criminal FIR registered in Nagpur. The systemic pressure has also dragged his family members into the crosshairs of a police investigation, raising serious questions about the targeting of independent voices.
The ordeal began when Mohan was targeted with a criminal FIR (Crime No. 22/2026) registered on 17/02/2026 at the Cyber Police Station in Nagpur City under sections 356(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66(D) of the IT Act.
In an attempt to trace the origin of Mohan's social media presence, the police issued a legal notice dated 17/03/2026 under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). However, this notice was addressed to his cousin, Ghanshyam Doliya, a resident of Jayal, Rohina in Nagaur, Rajasthan.
Speaking to The Mooknayak, Mohan explained that he had created his Instagram account in 2021 using his cousin's mobile number. Because his cousin is a government employee, the Nagpur Cyber Police summoned Doliya to appear before them on 22/03/2026 at 11:00 AM without fail. The notice imposed strict conditions, demanding full cooperation and warning that failure to comply could result in arrest under Section 35(6) of the BNSS.
Knowing his cousin could face workplace harassment over this, Mohan accompanied him to the Nagpur police station, where his own phone was subsequently confiscated by the authorities.
Alongside the police FIR, Mohan was served a staggering Rs. 50,00,00,000/- (Rupees Fifty Crores) defamation notice. The legal document claims this exorbitant amount as estimated aggregate damages for alleged reputational harm, mental distress, and loss of market capitalization. The notice demanded the immediate and unconditional removal of the video from all platforms—including X, Facebook, and YouTube—within 24 hours.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on March 26 and 27, an anguished Mohan wrote, "Two days have passed, I am doing the rounds of the police station in Nagpur. One phone has been confiscated, and I have been asked to submit the other phone I use to shoot videos. So where is freedom of speech? It’s resting in the peace."
He later posted a screenshot of the defamation notice, quoting a poignant couplet: "Khair, lagegi aag toh aayenge ghar kai zad mein. Yahan pe sirf hamara makaan thodi hai." (Well, if a fire breaks out, many houses will be engulfed. Mine is not the only house here.)
The video that triggered this massive crackdown was largely a reiteration of findings already published by The Caravan. In his video transcript, Mohan summarizes the magazine's claims regarding "Rembal Agro & Foods," a company allegedly caught transporting beef from Hyderabad to Mumbai with fraudulent veterinary certificates from Aligarh.
The video highlights The Caravan's allegations that Rembal (now Vinaad Foods) shares deep financial and structural ties with "Sian Agro & Infrastructure," a company where Nikhil Gadkari is the Managing Director. It also points to large loans sanctioned to the beef-trading company by a cooperative bank chaired by Kanchan Gadkari.
Mohan ends his video by asking his viewers a simple question based on the report: "Now you tell me, who is slaughtering cows and who is selling beef in this country?"
The swift and disproportionate response—a 50 Crore lawsuit and criminal intimidation of family members over a video summarizing an existing journalistic report—highlights a troubling trend. For a Dalit content creator exercising his personal right to freedom of expression, the cost has been a relentless cycle of legal harassment and digital silencing.
The case stands as a stark test of whether constitutional guarantees of free speech still hold weight for ordinary citizens speaking truth to power.
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