The Nagpur Cyber Police have registered a first information report against several social media content creators for allegedly running a defamatory online campaign against Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, ANI reported on Thursday.

The case was filed in the backdrop of a heated online debate about the government's E20 fuel policy. Several vehicle owners have claimed that the E20 variant of petrol, which has 20% ethanol, reduces mileage and damages vehicles.

The complaint was filed by BJP Nagpur City Social Media Cell Convener Shishir Arun Tripathi, ANI reported.

The complaint has alleged that a YouTube video uploaded by content creator Manish Kashyap on July 3, 2026, contained false, defamatory and misleading claims about Gadkari and E20 fuel, with the intent to mislead the public, the news agency reported.

Other YouTube and Instagram accounts named in the FIR include Desi Boys NCR, Harshit Rathi and Anklesh Invate.

The FIR has been filed under Sections 356, 352 and 296 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

After the FIR was filed, Rohit Kumar, who runs the Delhi Boys NCR page posted a video on Instagram, in which he apologised for using “abusive” language. However, he remarked: “If someone who earns Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 a month has to waste an additional Rs 5,000, would the person not feel bad?”

Kashyap, however, said that he would not delete his video about the subject, The Indian Express reported. In a video addressed to Gadkari, he said: “If you publicly say that my video is false, I am ready to go to jail. But I will not retract what I have said.”

Consumer concerns

Consumers have complained that the new fuel mix damages engines and reduces their mileage.

An opinion poll by LocalCircles published on July 5 showed that 53% of the surveyed petrol vehicle owners said that they believe that the government’s handling of the E20 rollout was “disastrous” or “ineffective”.

Sixty-six percent of the respondents said that they were experiencing a more than 10% drop in mileage with E20. Forty-five percent of the surveyed users said that their cars had suffered a moderate to major increase in wear and tear, or needed repairs, according to the polling conducted in June.

A report in October, which analysed government and industry data, said that only about 20% of new petrol vehicles sold in India in the last 15 years were compliant with the E20 fuel blend.

Gadkari has claimed that while the average mileage of vehicles may have marginally reduced because of blending petrol with ethanol, the claims made online about damage to cars are “overblown” and part of a “false narrative”.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.