Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 4: Delhi Police has registered an FIR against senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan for allegedly sharing a digitally manipulated video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov containing remarks critical of India, officials said.
The case was registered at the Special Cell Police Station following cyber patrolling on November 3. Police noticed a social media post by the handle @thequotesnews claiming that a purportedly doctored video of the Russian foreign minister had been shared from Bhushan's X account.
According to police, the video allegedly contained misleading and inflammatory content that could spread rumours, defame individuals and disturb public order.
The FIR has been registered under Sections 336(4) (forgery), 353(1)(c) (statements conducing to public mischief), 356 (defamation) and 340(2) (using a forged document as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66C (identity theft) of the Information Technology Act.
The development comes after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) fact-checked the digitally manipulated video falsely attributed to Lavrov.
The fabricated clip purportedly showed the Russian foreign minister making remarks critical of India over its internal affairs and oil purchases.
Police are investigating the matter and examining the video and its circulation on social media.