Chandigarh, Mar 16 (IANS): Punjab Police on Tuesday registered a case against unknown people for allegedly spreading false and defamatory WhatsApp and other social media messages aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, using a young woman's photograph picked up from her social media accounts without her permission.

The case has been registered at the state cyber crime wing in Mohali.

A police spokesman said distribution of such malicious and salacious content on social media, including news websites and TV channels, is against the law, and advised people to refrain from spreading these lies.

The complaint sought an investigation into the criminal and political conspiracy unleashed by "certain unscrupulous and disgruntled elements" to tarnish the reputation of the Chief Minister through defamatory messages forwarded on WhatsApp and shared on other platforms, using a young woman's photograph, apparently taken from her social media accounts without her permission.