The social media chief of India’s opposition Congress party has been arrested over accusations he misleadingly doctored a widely shared video during an ongoing national election, police said Saturday.
Arun Reddy was detained late Friday in connection with the edited footage, which falsely shows India’s powerful interior minister Amit Shah vowing in a campaign speech to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste Indians.
Shah is often referred to as the second-most powerful man in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the pair have been close political allies dating back decades.
Reddy “was arrested yesterday on investigation about… a doctored video of the home minister,” deputy commissioner of Delhi police Hemant Tiwari told AFP.
“We produced him in the court and he is in police custody.”
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed confirmed Reddy’s arrest to AFP but denied he was responsible for creating or publishing the clip.
“He is not involved in any doctored video. We are supporting him,” she said.