Prashant Bhushan booked for allegedly sharing doctored video of Russian Foreign Minister
New Delhi: Delhi Police have registered a case against senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan over the alleged circulation of a manipulated video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that appeared to show him making remarks hostile to India.
The action followed a complaint flagged during cyber patrolling on Tuesday, after a social media account claimed that the doctored clip had been shared from Bhushan’s handle. Delhi Police said the video was alleged to contain misleading, defamatory and inflammatory content capable of stirring public disturbance and spreading rumours.
In a post on X, the police said the matter came to their notice when the handle @thequotesnews alleged that a purportedly altered video of the Russian Foreign Minister, hostile to India, had been circulated from Bhushan’s account, @pbhushan1.
An FIR has been registered at the Special Cell police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, officials said. The case has been numbered 263/26.
The police action came after the Ministry of External Affairs’ fact-check unit dismissed the clip as fake. The video purportedly showed Lavrov criticising India over its internal affairs and oil purchases, but both the ministry and the Russian Embassy said the footage was fabricated.
The MEA’s Official FactCheck account also flagged the video, stating that the clip being circulated was fake. Authorities in India and Russia have warned that digitally altered and AI-generated content can spread quickly online and damage diplomatic ties, underscoring the need for greater caution while sharing material from social media.
(Inputs from IANS)