The Telangana Police took five members of the Telangana Congress IT team into custody regarding a manipulated video featuring Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Thursday.
Despite ongoing investigation by a Delhi Police team in the state, the Hyderabad Cybercrime branch conducted the arrests.
Sources within the police department informed PTI that they are close to identifying the originator of the deepfake video. However, before approaching the suspect, authorities are verifying the individuals who uploaded or circulated the video.
Additionally, notices were issued to five individuals from various opposition parties for allegedly disseminating the video.
Further action was taken as summonses were served to Chief Minister Reventh Reddy and four members of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) – Shiva Kumar Ambala, Asma Tasleem, Satish Manne, and Naveen Pettem – under sections 91 and 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
In a related development, a team from Delhi Police’s Special Cell visited ‘Gandhi Bhawan,’ the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters in Hyderabad, on Thursday.
They interacted with local law enforcement in Telangana to gather information about certain leaders who had received notices.
Meanwhile, investigators are awaiting responses from social media platforms X and Meta regarding the manipulated video. A source within the Delhi Police’s Special Cell informed IANS that the origin of the video remains a priority, emphasizing the importance of cooperation from social media companies.
