At least two members associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress respectively have been arrested in connection with the alleged fabricated video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The arrested persons, identified as Satish Vansola and RV Varia, were arrested on Tuesday (30th April) by Ahmedabad’s Cyber Crime Department. Vansola is the personal assistant to Congress leader Jignesh Mevani.
Lavina Sinha, DCP, Zone-1, Ahmedabad, stated that an edited video of the Union Home Minister was posted on social media from two Facebook profiles. “We have filed an FIR under sections 505A, 1B, 469, 153A and IT Act.”
She stated that the videos were posted on the Facebook profiles of two persons named Satish Vansola and RB Bariya. “We nabbed both of the suspects yesterday. The primary inquiry revealed that they are affiliated with political parties. An additional investigation is underway,” she added.
According to BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya, a video of Amit Shah was manipulated to distort his comments on Telangana’s Muslim minority quotas.
“Congress is spreading an edited video which is completely fake and has the potential to cause large-scale violence. Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about removing the unconstitutional reservation given to Muslims, based on religion, after reducing the share of SCs/STs and OBCs. This fake video has been posted by several Congress spokespersons. They must be prepared for legal consequences,” Malviya said in an X post.
On Tuesday, the Union Home Minister also slammed the Congress, stating that the opposition should contest elections based on manifestos rather than bogus videos. Shah stated that politics has reached a new low under Rahul Gandhi.
Mumbai Police also books 16 Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar) supporters in the case
Meanwhile, the Mumbai police have filed a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress social media handle and 16 people for allegedly spreading a deepfake video of Shah.
Mumbai BJP functionary Pratik Karpe is said to have filed a case at the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station on Monday (29th April). OpIndia has obtained the said complaint copy.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah never made any statement about cancelling reservations to SC/ST or OBC, this video is fake. Publishing such fake videos is an attempt to malign and tarnish Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with the Bharatiya Janata Party and an attempt to create a rift among various sections of the society. And hence, if certain anti-social elements are resorting to attempts to spoil the harmony and peace in society by indulging in such malicious deeds, immediate action must be taken against them,” Karpe said while exclusively talking to OpIndia.
The 16 persons booked by the Maharashtra Police include Congress supporters and NCP (Sharad Pawar) supporters.
Meanwhile, Jignesh Mevani claimed he could not endorse such fraudulent videos or propaganda. “I condemn all such actions, but no one should be targeted during elections. Satish (Vansola) is like a brother to me, and I am delighted to have him as a friend. However, he is never the type of person who intentionally commits something awful. I’ve known him for six years,” the Gujarat Congress leader said.
On Monday (29th April), the Delhi police summoned Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on May 1 for questioning on the issue. According to the reports, notices issued to five Telangana Congress members, including its president Reddy, who posted the video on X, were sent to the CM’s office and the party office at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.
They have been asked to appear with their mobile phones, laptops, tablets, or any other electronic equipment used to make, publish, and tweet the video on their X accounts.