Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy addresses the media in Hyderabad on May 1, 2024. | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s lawyer appeared before the Delhi Police on Wednesday and asserted that the Congress leader had nothing to do with creating or posting the doctored video of Amit Shah’s speech.
Mr. Reddy, who was summoned by the police for allegedly posting the video on social media platform X, hit out at the BJP at a rally in Telangana, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of adopting a vengeful attitude towards him for questioning the BJP over its stand on reservations.
Police sources said they are close to identifying the creator of the deepfake video but before reaching out to the suspect they have to verify who uploaded or forwarded it.
Notices have also been served to five others from various Opposition parties for allegedly sharing the video.
Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur has also been summoned by the Delhi Police on May 2 in connection with the probe, a party spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“I received the notice from Delhi Police on Tuesday. But, it is beyond my understanding why the notice was served to me. This is nothing but anarchy,” Mr. Thakur said.
Mr. Reddy’s lawyer appeared before the Delhi Police on Wednesday after summonses were issued to the Telangana Congress chief Mr. Reddy and four members of the Pradesh Congress Committee for allegedly posting the video on X.
“The police are still awaiting the response from those who were summoned today. A dozen more people are expected to appear in the coming days. Some people from Uttar Pradesh are expected to be questioned on Thursday,” said another police source.
Mr. Reddy’s lawyer, in a reply to the Delhi Police, said his “client does not operate the X handle ‘@INCTelangana’ and “as such is unable to provide the information sought for by you”. He also said that the notice of the Delhi Police “appears to be misdirected” and requested them to withdraw it immediately.
“Your attribution that ‘video tweeted/retweeted by you on your X/ Twitter handle’ is pre-conceived and incorrect. It is categorically stated that my client has nothing to do with the creating, uploading or tweeting/retweeting of the alleged video,” read the lawyer’s reply.
The lawyer said Mr. Reddy’s Twitter handle is @revanth_anumula and “no tweet or retweet of the alleged video” has been made from his handle.
“Further, the official handle of the Chief Minister of Telangana on X is Telangana CMO. It is stated that in view of the above facts, your Notice appears to be misdirected and based on incorrect information and you are thus requested to withdraw the captioned Notice immediately,” he added.
Vengeful attitude, says Reddy
Addressing an election rally in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency of Hyderabad, Mr. Reddy said a case has been registered against him in Delhi based on the complaint of the Union Home Ministry.
“I questioned the BJP. When I did that, PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah resorted to a vengeful attitude and registered a case against me in Delhi,” he said.
The summonses were issued to Mr. Reddy and four Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) members — Shiva Kumar Ambala, Asma Tasleem, Satish Manne and Naveen Pettem — under Sections 91 and 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
According to police sources, if a person is served notice under these Sections, the person can either make a physical appearance before the investigating officer or send a legal representative.
At the rally, Mr. Reddy said, “You [Mr. Modi] come to my State and threaten the CM, but people of Telangana are not too innocent… they won’t be scared… Khabardar (be mindful) PM ji, you may think that you can threaten by coming to Telangana. This is my place. This is my territory. You threaten me on my soil?”
The Delhi Police has not received any reply from X regarding reports on the identity of those who shared the doctored video of Amit Shah.
The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had on Sunday registered an FIR after the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, filed a complaint about the doctored video of Mr. Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating the scrapping of all reservations.
