Punjab minister files police complaint after 'doctored' video goes viral

Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has filed a police complaint alleging a "doctored" video was being circulated on social media and other platforms that showed him making some remark about a Sikh Guru which he never made. The Congress leader also claimed a malicious attempt has been made to tarnish his image and said he was a baptized Sikh and can never even think of showing disrespect to the Gurus. Randhawa, who is the jails minister, filed the complaint with Batala police.

"We have received a complaint from the minister. We have forwarded it for further investigations to the State Cyber Crime Cell," Batala SSP Opinderjit Singh Ghuman said on Sunday.

Randhawa told the media that he will also ask Punjab's Director General of Police, Dinkar Gupta, to thoroughly probe and identify the culprits behind the "mischievous act".

"It is a doctored video. I want the matter to be thoroughly investigated and I will also ask the DGP that the culprits who tampered the video and circulated it are identified and punished," he said.

"The voice has been edited in the video and some words are being attributed to me which I never spoke," said the minister.

He asserted that he didn't equate Guru Sahib with anybody as was being claimed. The minister added it was an old video which was being circulated after tampering the voice. Randhawa said a person is seen standing next to him in the video who he hasn't met for the past one-and-a-half years.