The city police of Telangana announced the arrest of five social media activists associated with the Telangana Congress party. Their arrest is linked to a viral video purportedly showing Union Home Minister Amit Shah, which the police claim was morphed.
The accused individuals were presented before a local court, where they were granted bail under specific conditions. Each person was required to submit two sureties worth Rs 10,000 each and obligated to appear before the investigating officer on Mondays and Fridays until further directives.
The police statement mentioned that they received a complaint from a state BJP leader on April 27. The complaint alleged that the Telangana Pradesh Congress Party, through its social media account, had shared a video that was manipulated or fabricated, supposedly depicting Amit Shah’s speech during an election campaign in Siddipet. This act was deemed a violation of the IT Act.
The police registered a case against the accused under Sections 469 (forgery), 505(1)C (circulating rumors), and 171G (spreading false information), among others. They emphasized that the purposeful act of morphing the video was intended to mislead people and create fear among OBC communities and voters.
According to the police’s version of events, during a public meeting in Medak on April 23, Amit Shah delivered a speech. Subsequently, the accused received a doctored video, which they uploaded on social media platforms and shared across various WhatsApp groups.
Upon being alerted to the sensitive nature of the content, the video was promptly deleted.
This incident follows the recent summons issued by the Delhi Police to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on May 1. He was called in for questioning regarding another alleged doctored video involving Amit Shah.