Amit Shah’s doctored clip: Five Telangana Cong workers held, released on bail
- In Reports
- 12:27 PM, May 04, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Friday, police said that five Congress members from the party's Telangana unit were arrested in relation to a morphed video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's address at an election rally in Siddipet last month. The workers were later released on bail.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (cyber crimes) Dara Kavitha said the five arrested – PendyalaVamsi Krishna, Manne Satish, Pettam Naveen, AsmaTasleem and KoyaGeetha – were produced before the 12th additional city metropolitan magistrate court at Nampally on Friday afternoon.
“The court released them on bail on payment of ₹10,000 each along with two sureties. The accused have been asked to appear before the investigating officer on every Monday and Friday until further orders,” the DCP said.
She noted that the cybercrime police had received a complaint from Bharatiya Janata Party state general secretary G Premender Reddy at 7:30 pm on April 27. In the complaint, he alleged that the Telangana Congress, through its X handle, had shared a manipulated video of Amit Shah's speech delivered in Siddipet on April 23.
“The complaint said an act of the Telangana Congress and its social media team in morphing or fabricating the Union home’s minister’s speech was an offence under the Information Technology Act. The deliberate and mischievous act is aimed at misleading the people and voters creating fear amongst the OBC communities,” Kavitha said quoting the complaint.
Following the complaint, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police filed a case under Sections 469 (forgery with intent to harm reputation), 505(1)C (circulation of any statement with intent to incite people or a community), 171 G (publishing or posting a false statement related to the conduct of a candidate with intent to affect the outcome of an election), and 502(2) (dissemination of defamatory information) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The DCP said the accused were working in the social media unit of the Telangana Congress and their job was “to monitor social media posts related to political parties and upload them on their official and personal social media handles”.
Following Union Minister Amit Shah's speech in Siddipet on April 23, Vamsi Krishna received a doctored video of the speech via WhatsApp. He then proceeded to upload this video onto the Congress party handle on X - "@INCTelangana." It was circulated in multiple WhatsApp groups.
The remaining four accused saw the video and further shared it on their individual social media handles. “When notified by X about the sensitive content, they deleted it. Thus, they violated the Model Code of Conduct,” the DCP said.
Kavitha mentioned that the cybercrime police seized five mobile phones, a tablet, two Acer laptops, and two CPUs from the accused. She added that the public is advised against circulating any videos or photos associated with political parties, as it could potentially violate the model code of conduct governing the ongoing elections.
Image source: PTI
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