Forensic reports show Mann not in video: AAP
Chandigarh, June 19 -- Days after the Akal Takht directed the Sikh community to ostracise Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann over an objectionable video, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday said forensic examinations by two labs had shown that the man shown in the video was not him.
Addressing the media, AAP leader and cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema said this conclusion was based on forensic tests conducted by two government-recognised labs. "In these two lab reports, 1,191 different angles have been taken to look at facial recognition, height, body posture, and how he (Mann) walks, talks and stands, for analysis. It establishes that the individual seen in the viral video is not Mann," Cheema said, adding that these are independent labs, located outside Punjab.
In a video statement, Mann echoed the party's stance claiming that some actor was imitative him in the video and with hair like him. "It is clear that this video was made with an intention of defaming me," he said.
He said details about the video are still unknown. "When and where this video was made, it is not known," the CM said.
On Tuesday, Mann rejected the video that formed the basis of the Akal Takht decree, calling it "false and misleading propaganda". Mann said he had clarified this before Akal Takht acting jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj.
"Neither the physical build nor the appearance of the person shown in the video matches me, yet false and misleading propaganda is being spread to damage my reputation," he added.
Cheema presented reports of two forensic labs claiming that the person in the video was not Mann and said the forensic analysis examined a total of 1,191 frames from the video.
The CM had been summoned before the Akal Takht after a complaint was filed on January 4 alleging the video purportedly showed him making comments on the 'Guru ki Golak' (a gurdwara donation box) and disrespecting the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The Akal Takht on Monday declared Mann 'Guru Dokhi' (anti-Guru) and 'Khalsa Panth Virodhi' (anti-Khalsa Panth) over the video. The edict was pronounced after Giani Gargaj claimed that forensic examinations by two government-recognised labs found no evidence of tampering.
At the press conference, Cheema accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of trying to defame Mann by allegedly circulating a "fake" video and falsely linking it to the CM. Later, an AAP delegation, comprising Cheema, state chief Aman Arora and Pannu, met DGP Gaurav Yadav and submitted the two lab reports to him.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress took a jibe at the AAP's "lame defence" of Mann after the Akal Takht's decree.
Reacting to the AAP's latest claims, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said: "AAP is trying to defend the indefensible and telling one lie after the other"....
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