Delhi Police files FIR against Prashant Bhushan over fake Russian foreign minister

New Delhi: Delhi Police has registered an FIR against senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan for sharing a digitally manipulated video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that purportedly contained remarks hostile to India, officials said.

The case was registered at the Special Cell Police Station following cyber patrolling on November 3, when police noticed a social media post by the handle @thequotesnews, claiming that a purported doctored video of the foreign minister had been shared from Bhushan’s X handle.

The video allegedly carried misleading and inflammatory content, with the potential to spread rumours, defame individuals and disturb public order, police said.

The FIR was filed under sections 336 (4) (forgery), 353 (1) (c) (statements conducing to public mischief), 356 (defamation) and 340 (2) (forged document used as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with 66 C (punishment for identity theft) of the Information Technology Act at Special Cell Police Station.

The development comes after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) fact-checked the digitally manipulated video falsely attributed to the Russian foreign minister.

The fabricated clip purportedly showed him making remarks critical of India over its internal affairs and oil purchases.

Police are investigating the matter and examining the content and its circulation on social media.

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