The Delhi Police on Monday issued summons to Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy in connection with the alleged doctored video of Union home minister Amit Shah being circulated on social media, asking him to appear before the force in the national capital on May 1.
The development came on a day the Assam Police arrested a 31-year-old man, identified as Reetam Singh, who is said to be the Congress’s “war room coordinator” in the north-eastern state, over his alleged involvement in making the doctored video and sharing it online, officers in Guwahati said.
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A team of the special cell of Delhi Police arrived at the Telangana Congress headquarters in Hyderabad in the afternoon and served notices to Reddy, who is also the party’s state unit chief, and four other office-bearers.
“We have issued summons to Reddy since he is also the head of TPCC and they posted the video on their X handle. We have asked him to join the probe on May 1 with his electronic devices,” a senior Delhi Police officer said, requesting anonymity. “We want to analyze the devices and ascertain how the video got made and shared.”
Read more: ‘PM Modi using Delhi Police’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy on summons in Amit Shah doctored video case
On Sunday, acting on a compliant from Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which comes under the MHA, the Delhi Police lodged a first information report (FIR) in connection with the doctored video of Shah, where his statement made during a Lok Sabha poll rally indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious grounds in Telangana was edited to make it appear he was advocating scrapping of all reservations.
The FIR stated that the video, being shared on X and Facebook, was doctored and spreading misinformation with the “intent of creating disharmony among communities which is likely to affect public tranquillity and public order issues”.
The FIR has been registered under sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation, with intent to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 465 (forgery), 469 (forgery with purpose of harming reputation) and 171 G (false statements in connection with an election) of the IPC.
HT has accessed a copy of the Delhi Police notice, summoning Congress leaders appear before the Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit on May 1.
Reddy, while addressing a poll rally at Sedan in neighbouring Karnataka, confirmed receiving the notice. “I have just received information that the Delhi police had come to Gandhi Bhavan (party headquarters in Hyderabad) and served notices on me in connection with a video. I am not going to get scared by such notices,” he said.
He further alleged that these while, the Narendra Modi government was targeting political opponents using the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Income tax. “Now, he is sending the Delhi police to issue notices to us and intimidate us. No one will be scared here. We will respond,” he claimed.
The doctored video of Shah was allegedly shared by Telangana and Jharkhand units of the Congress on their official X handles. “Legal action will also be taken against persons who shared the video…We might also go to Jharkhand to produce notices to the Congress office there,” said another Delhi police officer, also declining to be named.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana unit chief G Kishan Reddy alleged that the Congress was unleashing a negative campaign with fake videos in collusion with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and AIMIM to stall the juggernaut of the BJP.
“It is a meaningless propaganda. People of all sections have understood that Revanth Reddy’s allegations against the BJP on reservations were totally baseless. If he has any sincerity and integrity, he should immediately withdraw his statement and tender a public apology to the BJP and the RSS,” the BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, the Assam Police also lodged an independent probe in connection with the doctored video and arrested Reetam Singh, whose X account bio suggests he is a “lawyer” and “war room coordinator” of the Assam Congress.
“Our initial probe suggests that the video was doctored/edited at the Congress’s war room in Assam. We have evidence against Singh who is not only involved in making the video but also shared it. The video was picked up by other Congress workers and groups…,” a senior Assam Police officer said, requesting anonymity.
