Jalandhar, Jan 15 (NationPress) A trial court in Punjab's Jalandhar has mandated the removal and blocking of a manipulated video featuring former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.

The video in question, which allegedly depicted her making contentious statements about the ninth Sikh master, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was determined to be digitally altered to provoke community discord.

Responding to a request from the cybercrime police, the court, led by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, emphasized that the distribution of this video threatened public peace and religious unity within the state.

The court referenced Rule 3(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and instructed platforms like Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X, and Telegram to remove the problematic content.

"The disputed material must be taken down immediately and within 24 hours of the court's directive," stated the court, also requiring a compliance report in 10 days.

Moreover, it ordered that all similar, replicated, or derivative versions of the video be blocked as identified by the state's Cybercrime department.

In reaction to the court's decision, Anurag Dhanda, the national media in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party, remarked that the Jalandhar court delivered a significant ruling regarding a fake video released by Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra that disrespected revered figures.

He noted that the court confirmed the video shared by Minister Mishra was indeed manipulated.

Last week, the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate announced that an FIR had been lodged following a complaint from Iqbal Singh about the uploading and dissemination of the edited video of Atishi.

Numerous social media posts containing a brief video clip allegedly showing Atishi, the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, making seemingly derogatory and blasphemous comments about Sikh gurus have appeared online.

The Jalandhar Police Commissionerate spokesperson indicated that investigations have been conducted thoroughly and scientifically, with the video containing Atishi's audio downloaded from Kapil Mishra's social media and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory Director in Mohali for analysis.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann also responded to the BJP regarding the manipulation of Atishi's Assembly video, labeling it a deliberate attempt to incite community unrest in Punjab.

Stating that the secular Punjab government would not tolerate such political stunts, the Chief Minister asserted that the video was edited with misleading subtitles, an act of 'beadbi' (sacrilege), and emphasized that forensic evidence confirmed that Atishi never used the term "Guru".