The BJP has intensified its attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, demanding his arrest over a controversy linked to an alleged video showing desecration of pictures of Sikh gurus.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa Mann and the nationalist Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused Arvind Kejriwal of maintaining silence on an issue that he said had deeply hurt Sikh sentiments.
Sirsa claimed that those who submitted the forensic report related to the video are now facing arrests and criminal cases, alleging that it is an attempt to suppress the matter.
“Bhagwant Mann remained silent, Arvind Kejriwal also remained silent, and today the arrests have been made and the case against those who submitted this forensic report has been made,” Sirsa said, according to news agency ANI.
He further alleged that a serious crime had been committed and that attempts had been made to bury the case through money and police action.
Questioning the lack of action against the Punjab Chief Minister, Sirsa asked, “When will a case be filed against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann? When will Bhagwant Mann be arrested in this case?”
A row related to the controversial video
The BJP also accused Mann and the AAP of trying to undermine the authority of Akal Takht by allegedly seeking a fabricated forensic report to counter the findings linked to the controversial video.
The controversy stems from a video that allegedly shows a man resembling Mann engaging in activities described as objectionable in the presence of photographs of Sikh gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Earlier this month, Akal Takht declared Mann as “guru dokhi” (anti-guru) and “Khalsa panth virodhi” (anti-khalsa panth) on the video, another ANI report added.
Sirsa alleged that instead of expressing regret, AAP leaders tried to challenge the results.
“Instead of repenting for this sin he committed, their minister Harpal Cheema held a press conference on June 18 and said that this video is fake,” Sirsa claimed.
Two were arrested $Demand 10 thousand
As HT reported earlier, the latest political standoff comes in the wake of the Haryana Police’s arrest of two men on Tuesday in connection with allegations that fake forensic reports were prepared for the controversial AI-generated video ad.
The accused, Arun Mahendru, 25, of Sirsa and Ankit Sharma, 25, of Jind district, were arrested after an FIR was registered at DLF police station in Gurugram on the basis of a complaint by Jaspreet Singh, a cyber forensics specialist from Haryana.
According to Haryana Police, the accused allegedly provided Jaspreet Singh with forensic certificates claiming to be issued by labs called Cyberyan and Cipher Sentinel.
“Both these laboratories are fake and non-existent,” said Naveen Sharma, ACP (Crime).
According to the complaint, he was told that a video circulating on social media purportedly showing the Punjab chief minister needed to be “certified as being generated by artificial intelligence and not authentic.”
Jaspreet allegedly informed those present that the quality and origin of the video were not sufficient to perform any reliable forensic examination, including facial comparison, anthropometric analysis or deepfake detection.
However, he also claimed that during a subsequent meeting, he was again pressed to support the claim that the video was generated by artificial intelligence. According to the complaint, the pressure later escalated into threats directed at him and his family while he was there $It is alleged that 10 lakh was put in his car as an incentive.
