Amid the raging election campaigning season, two Congress workers have been apprehended for allegedly sharing a video, denounced by the BJP as a deepfake of the BJP candidate for the Kota constituency, Om Birla, and posting alleged derogatory remarks against him.
The two people were identified as Naushad Ali, 35, a resident of Laadpura Karbala in Kota City, and Rangrez Ashav Sharma, 31, a resident of Sinta Mohalla in Bundi district.
The arrests came after BJP district president Rakesh Kumar Jain filed a complaint against two men at Kishorepura police station on Saturday, April 13. He alleged that the men had shared ‘unrestrained’ posts and deep fake videos defaming Birla, the sitting MP and Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered, and investigations were launched. And later on April 13, the two were arrested, who turned out to be Congress workers, police said.
Kota Police said the BJP district president had complained that Naushad and Ashav Sharma shared a fake video of Om Birla on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. He alleged that an attempt was being made to tarnish the MP’s reputation by uploading false and misleading content about him, police said.
Meanwhile, it’s important to note that a few days ago, the Congress candidate for Kota, Prahlad Gunjal, complained to the Election Commission of India that Birla and his team were terrorizing voters and misusing police and administrative machinery.
