Chandigarh, June 26 -- Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann onThursday denied being the individual featured in an objectionable viral video that has drawn a religious edict against him, claiming the footage was shot in a hotel room in Abbotsford, Canada, using a sophisticated face mask designed to resemble his features. Addressing a press conference in Mohali, Mann identified a Canada-based man named Jagman Samra as the main "blackmailer" behind the plot and presented video clips of him holding the mask while sitting in a car. Mann said the individual in the controversial clip was roughly two inches taller than him, possessed a completely different gait and body language, and lacked a distinct surgical scar present on his own neck. The person in the video was also wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes, said the chief minister. Showing another video, claiming that Samra was holding a mask resembling his face, Mann said, "In the video, Samra can be heard saying that the mask can be put on a face. The day he took the delivery of the mask, he made this video." He alleged that Samra had also made a similar mask resembling Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, and promised to expose the political financiers behind the operation in the coming days, noting that he himself had not visited Canada since November 2016. "Samra was hired to tarnish my image. It is evident from the neck that the person in the video is wearing a mask," said Mann. "Who installs pictures of Guru Sahib in hotels?" he asked, adding, "Who gave him money to make this video? Who is the producer and director? We will reveal in the coming days." Asked whether he knew Samra, Mann said he met him once when he was in the People's Party of Punjab. "He is not my friend. I have nothing to do with him. He lives in Abbotsford and he hails from Sangrur," said Mann. "Certain politically motivated individuals occupying religious positions are making announcements according to their own agenda. There is an attempt to defame me on religious grounds because they are unable to compete with me politically. Politically, they (the opposition Congress, SAD and BJP) have been reduced to zero on the ground. Now they have stooped to a level where, almost every day, some order or directive is issued with the intention of tarnishing my religious image," Mann said. "In reality, the work that the AAP government has done for the people of Punjab, socially, economically, and even in religious matters, has never been done before. Whether it is the anti-sacrilege law, which provides for stringent punishments, or other initiatives taken by this government, no previous government has done as much," the chief minister said. While reiterating that he would never challenge the supreme authority of the Akal Takht and remained willing to appear before it, Mann hit out at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for putting up billboards calling for hisboycott while ignoring opposition leaders. The political storm intensified following the arrest of two men by the Haryana Police in Gurugram on Tuesday for allegedly procuring a fabricated forensic report intended to clear the chief minister's name. The controversy stems from an edict issued on June 15 by Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, who declared Mann "anti-Guru" and "anti-Panth" after two forensic laboratories reportedly found the video authentic. Three days later, AAP said forensic tests conducted by two Government of India-recognised laboratories concluded that the man in the video was not him. During his January 15 appearance before the Akal Takht secretariat, Mann had maintained that the footage was fake, manipulated and AI-generated. The Akal Takht had summoned Mann for allegedly making comments on "Guru ki Golak" (gurdwara donation box) and indulging in "objectionable activities" with the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the purported video....