The Jalandhar Commissionerate Police took formal legal action on Friday by registering a First Information Report (FIR) concerning the widespread circulation of a manipulated video. The footage in question falsely depicted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi chief minister Atishi making derogatory comments about Sikh Gurus.
Forensic Science Exposes Video Manipulation
The police action was initiated based on a complaint filed by an individual named Iqbal Singh. This step followed a detailed forensic investigation into social media clips that had sparked outrage by allegedly showing the AAP leader uttering blasphemous remarks. A police spokesperson explained that scientific analysis was employed to verify the authenticity of the controversial footage.
The investigative process involved cross-referencing the original audio with clips downloaded from the X (formerly Twitter) account of Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra. These samples were then sent for expert examination at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) located in Mohali.
The conclusive forensic report, released on Friday, explicitly stated that the word 'Guru' was never spoken by Atishi in her original audio that was used in the viral clips. The spokesperson emphasized that there was a deliberate and malicious editing of the video to attribute captioned words to the leader that she did not utter.
Political Circulation and Demands for Action
While the police confirmed the filing of the FIR, they did not immediately clarify whether the names of specific political leaders or official party accounts that uploaded the video were included in the charges. The doctored video had gained significant traction after being shared by several influential handles and figures.
The footage was disseminated by multiple BJP-associated social media accounts, the RSS mouthpiece 'Panchjanya', and prominent political personalities from Punjab. These included Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, who had publicly demanded legal action against Atishi based on the fake video.
Other notable figures who shared the content or related posts were SAD (Revived) president Giani Harpreet Singh, and Congress MLAs Pargat Singh and Sukhpal Singh Khaira. The video also fueled criticism against the former Delhi CM across numerous Sikh social media accounts.
Prior Complaints and Escalating Tensions
The incident had already triggered formal complaints before the police's forensic investigation concluded. The Haryana Gurdwara Management Committee had submitted a complaint against Atishi to the Akal Takht jathedar, the highest temporal seat of Sikh authority, highlighting the communal sensitivity and potential for disharmony that the doctored video carried.
The registration of the FIR by Jalandhar Police marks a critical turn in the case, shifting the focus from the target of the fake video to its creators and propagators. It underscores the growing use of digital manipulation for political defamation and the increasing reliance on forensic technology to establish truth in the era of misinformation.
