Assam Police Makes First Arrest Over Amit Shah’s Doctored Video: All You Need To Know

New Delhi: Thwarting the attempts being made at spinning false narratives against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the third phase of polling for the parliamentary elections that are currently underway in the country, the Assam police on Monday arrested an individual identified as Sri Reetom Singh in connection with the fake video involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on social media platform ‘X’. 

The arrest – first such in the case – comes just a day after an FIR was filed against unknown persons for spreading a fake video of Amit Shah showing him allegedly talking about ending reservations if the BJP comes to power. Notably, the doctored video, the saffron party clarified, has been altered to deliberately malign the saffron party and its top leadership by falsely depicting the home minister as rallying for the end of quota altogether.

In contrast to what the fabricated video shows, the original remarks made by the Home Minister suggest removal of "unconstitutional" reservation for Muslims in Telangana, the party has stressed.

Delhi Police Asks Revanth Reddy To Join Probe

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has asked Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to join its probe on May 1 in connection the case. Notices in this regard have been issued to five members of the Telangana Congress, including party chief Reddy, who had also posted the video on X (formerly Twitter). Manne Satish, Naveen, Shivashankar and Asma Thaslim are among other Telangana Congress Leaders who have also been served notices by the Delhi Police, Republic has learnt.

Reddy has reportedly been asked to appear before the police with the mobile phone that was allegedly used for posting the altered video on X.

PM Modi Urges Election Commission ‘To Take Strict Action’

In a stern message aimed at curbing the promotion and circulation of deepfake videos, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing his second rally in Maharashtra on Monday urged the crowd to help expose those who promote fake videos. “Think twice before forwarding these videos”, PM Modi told the gathering in Satara, even as he requested the Election Commission of India “to take strict action” against perpetrators.

Earlier, BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya had alleged that the Telangana Congress unit was circulating a doctored video of Shah that was entirely fabricated and capable of inciting widespread violence.

Amit Shah’s Doctored Video: How Did the Controversy Erupt?

With the conclusion of the second phase of voting for Lok Sabha 2024 elections, a doctored video has been doing rounds on social media, showing the HM reportedly claiming during an election speech that the BJP government will 'scrap the reservation' for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), the Scheduled Tribes (STs), and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). 

The original video – posted on the official YouTube channel of Amit Shah – from an election rally last year, however, shows the minister addressing a gathering at the 'Vijaya Sankalp Sabha' in Telangana, in which he can be seen talking about scrapping the 'unconstitutional reservation' for Muslims in the state if the BJP is voted to power. 

Part of the video – from 14 minutes onwards – shows Shah addressing a massive crowd at the KVR Ground in Chevella, while asserting that it is the constitutional “right of every citizen belonging to the SC, ST and OBC community in the state”.

'Creating Disharmony Among Communities': What Has Complainant Alleged in FIR?

On April 28, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police had registered an FIR after the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (under the Ministry of Home Affairs), filed a complaint regarding the doctored video of Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious ground in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating for scrapping all forms of reservations.

According to the complaint filed by Sinku Sharan Singh of the Cybercrime Coordination Centre, some doctored videos are being circulated on social media with “the intent of creating disharmony among communities which is likely to affect public tranquillity and public order”, in the backdrop of the ongoing general elections.

The FIR has been filed under sections 153 (causing provocation with intention to cause riot), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), 465 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm the reputation of any party), and 171G (publishing false statement with intent to affect the result of an election) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Information Technology Act, PTI quoted the police officials as saying.

What Has Amit Shah Actually Said on Reservations?

Calling it a “Modi guarantee”, Amit Shah has reiterated during several election campaigns, including today's rally that the BJP will neither remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so.

Speaking at a rally in support of Rajveer Singh, the BJP candidate from Etah-Kasganj, Shah alleged that the opposition parties ignored people from backward communities, who were granted their rights by Narendra Modi after he became prime minister.

"Rahul Gandhi says that if the BJP gets 400 seats, it will remove reservation. I want to say that we had a full majority for two terms, and it is a Modi guarantee that neither will the BJP remove reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs nor will it allow anyone to do so," Shah asserted.

Shah – who entered the Lok Sabha after winning the Gandhinagar seat in 2019 –  is seeking re-election from the Gujarat constituency.

Gujarat will go to polls in the third phase of parliamentary elections on May 7. 

Amit Shah’s Doctored Video: What's Next in The Case?

With the first arrest in the case coming on the heels of the third phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections and the BJP also fling a police complaint, Republic has learnt from reliable sources that arrests are now likely to follow across the country.

Meanwhile, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Special Cell has also approached social media platforms to identify the source of the video and those who have spread it, reports suggest.

"We have formed many teams to investigate the matter properly and arrest the main culprits. We have written to X and other social media platforms regarding the video. We are investigating both the source of the video and those responsible for its widespread circulation," a source told PTI.