Interstate showdown: Bengal, Noida police lock horns over arrest in Mahua Moitra 'fake chat' case

The case pertains to alleged private chats between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and political strategist Prashant Kishor, which were later found to be fake

• WB Police allege Noida Police blocked arrest of accused in forged chat case
• Noida Police deny obstruction, claim full cooperation with WB Police
• Political tensions rise between TMC-governed Bengal and BJP-governed UP

Did our AI summary help?

The politics brewing between BJP and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is now playing out between the West Bengal and Noida Police over the detention of man suspected to be circulating forged social media chats shared between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and political strategist Prashant Kishore.

While the West Bengal police alleged that a man who posted the fake chats on social media, in search of whom they went to Noida, escaped due to the intervention of Noida Police, the Noida Police have refuted these allegations. Taking to X, TMC MP Mahua Moitra wrote that the Noida Police was lying.

WB police went to execute a warrant. See how accused calls BJP troll army chief @amitmalviya who threatens Noida Police with “Aap Kuch Nahi Karenge” . Everything is caught on video so @noidapolice should stop lying. pic.twitter.com/XIWgZAe0JQ

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) February 12, 2026

The case relates to a private chat claimed to be between Moitra and Kishor, which was circulated on social media few days ago. Moitra later filed a written complaint at a police station in Nadia district, alleging that false and fabricated content was being circulated in her name.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered and police began its probe. During the probe, police found that a person named Surajit Dasgupta had posted the alleged chat on his X handle.

After a forensic examination confirmed that the chat was forged, the accused was issued a notice and asked to appear before the investigating officer on Monday. A four-member police team from Krishnanagar in West Bengal, the constituency Moitra represents in Lok Sabha, landed up in Noida with an arrest warrant from a court in Bengal's Nadia after he failed to respond to the notice.

The Bengal police team claimed that after locating and detaining the accused, a large team of Noida Police, comprising around 10-15 personnel, arrived at the spot and stopped them from carrying out the arrest. The Bengal police team was taken to a local police station and kept there for nearly one and a half hours. During this time, the accused allegedly escaped from the location and is now on the run.

In a statement on X, West Bengal Police said, "Our team, with full cooperation of UP Police, executed the warrant and detained the accused on Feb 10. Thereafter, following external communications by certain political functionaries, the team was taken to the local police station and lawful proceedings were interrupted, enabling the accused to abscond."

Meanwhile, Noida Police have rejected the allegations of obstruction and said full cooperation was extended to the West Bengal Police.

Speaking to NDTV, the SHO of Phase-2 Police Station said the West Bengal Police team arrived without prior intimation. The SHO said Noida Police requested time to follow standard procedure and prepare a raiding team as per protocol.

According to Noida Police, apartment security was informed before the raid, as required under procedure. When the joint raid was conducted, the suspect was not found at the premises.

The tiff between the police of two different states soon poured into social media, generating more heat between  TMC-governed Bengal and BJP-governed UP.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya accused the Bengal cops of overreach. "Why is the state police machinery being weaponised against those who merely amplify what is already circulating in the public domain? Why target individuals who are, in effect, only sharing what others are discussing?"

The West Bengal Police has now written to X seeking the withholding of posts that shared salacious chats between a Trinamool MP and her paramour.What is striking is the subject line of their own communication:“Non-consensual sharing of private intimate chats of a sitting… pic.twitter.com/DDUiwyUSCv

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 11, 2026