Fake video showing Punjab CM Amarinder Singh as intoxicated' goes viral, case filed

Chandigarh: Punjab Police's cyber cell on Saturday, registered a case after a fake video of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh went viral on social media, a spokesperson said.

"Preliminary inquiry into the case has revealed that the "malicious" video was uploaded and "doctored" by an unknown person with the user name "Harsh Sofat" (@harshsofat9) on a web-based application", he said.

Police are trying to remove the content from all social media sites.

In the video, the voice of the chief minister was altered and deliberately slowed down to create an impression that he was under the influence of an intoxicant, he said.

Police said the video was "willfully manipulated, uploaded and circulated" on social media platforms with the sole intent of tarnishing the chief minister's image. The case was registered under Section 67 of the IT Act and sections 500 (defamation) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

Initial investigations by the cyber cell revealed that the video was created using a Chinese app 'TikTok', which allows users to dub and alter voices on recorded videos, he said.

The video was initially circulated on a WhatsApp group, 'Youth group nabhaz', and also uploaded on a Facebook Page, 'Majha Akali Page.