Akali leader arrested for circulating altered video

In the wake of the apprehension of Parambans Singh Romana, a prominent member of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), over allegations of disseminating a manipulated video, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal lodged a cybercrime complaint against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The complaint asserts that several edited and defamatory videos have been shared by Mann from his official social media platform and urges prompt action against him.
Romana’s arrest followed Punjabi singer Kanwar Grewal’s disavowal of derogatory comments attributed to him about the Punjab and Delhi chief ministers while performing on stage. Grewal claimed that the video, shared by the SAD leader, had been altered. Romana, however, characterized his arrest as politically motivated.
“I strongly denounce the political vendetta unleashed against the Shiromani Akali Dal by CM Bhagwant Mann through the arrest of party General Secretary Romana on unfounded charges. The Aam Aadmi Party seeks to stifle opposition voices, divert attention from the real concerns of Punjabis, and conceal its failures. SAD will not be cowed by such cowardly acts,” declared SAD Chief Badal.
Badal pointed out that the video, which prompted the filing of a case against Parambans Romana, had been in circulation since 2016, with numerous political figures sharing it on their pages. He emphasized that the focus should be on the individual responsible for manipulating the video, not on Romana.
“The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its top leadership consistently share edited videos and defamatory content on social media against us. The police should initiate proceedings against them, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in line with our complaint,” added the SAD leader.
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) attributed the manipulated video of the renowned Punjabi singer Grewal to SAD and the Badal family.
AAP’s Punjab Chief Spokesperson, Malvinder Singh Kang, deemed this as reflective of SAD (Badal) engaging in low-level politics. He played Grewal’s video, wherein the singer expressed that his video had been tampered with and condemned it as part of a conspiracy. Grewal was unequivocal in his assertion that the video was doctored.