The investigators are yet to receive any response from social media giants X (formerly Twitter) and Meta in connection with a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a source in the Delhi Police’s Special Cell told IANS on Tuesday.
Three persons have been arrested by the police for circulating the fake video so far, two in Gujarat and one in Assam.
“We are trying to trace the origin of the doctored video. A reply from the social media giants is of utmost importance in the case. X, meanwhile, has deleted all the morphed videos from its platform,” said a senior Delhi Police officer privy to the probe.
After registering an FIR, the Special Cell’s IFSO unit, which has been tasked to crack the case, sent a letter to the X seeking details.
Summonses have been issued under Sections 91 and 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), calling individuals to participate in the probe and provide relevant documents and electronic devices as evidence.
Some sections invoked by the police in the FIR classify the offence as non-bailable.
Over 16 persons, including political leaders, from seven states have been summoned by the Delhi Police in connection with the case.
The Special Cell has also sent teams to Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh as a part of the probe.
On Monday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy along with four Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) members — Shiva Kumar Ambala, Asma Tasleem, Satish Manne, and Naveen Pettem — were summoned to appear before the Delhi Police on May 1.
The move followed after the Delhi Police on Sunday registered an FIR after two complaints were received by the police, one from the BJP and another from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The controversy erupted after a doctored video surfaced on social media showing Home Minister Amit Shah making statements suggesting the BJP’s intention to annul the reservation provisions for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
