- Bajrang Punia warned against posting a morphed photograph of Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat that shows them smiling while detained by the police.
- Saurabh Bharadwaj of the AAP shared a screen-recorded video in which he demonstrated the process of editing a photo using a popular mobile application.
- Hitting out at ‘IT cell’ for spreading the morphed picture, Punia threatened to file a complaint against those found posting the photograph on social media.
- Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell purportedly used the app to potentially make the wrestlers in the photo smile.
- The Delhi Police has booked Punia, Phogat, and Sakshi Malik along with their supporters on charges of rioting and obstructing public servants in discharge of duty after they were detained while marching to the new Parliament building on Sunday.
Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia warned against posting a morphed photograph of fellow protesting grapplers Vinesh Phogat and Sangeeta Phogat that shows them smiling while detained by the police. Hitting out at ‘IT cell’ for spreading the morphed picture, Punia threatened to file a complaint against those found posting the photograph on social media.
Hours after Bajrang Punia’s warning Saurabh Bharadwaj of the Aam Aadmi Party shared a screen-recorded video in which he demonstrated the process of editing a photo using a popular mobile application. The Delhi minister alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT cell purportedly used the app to potentially make the wrestlers in the photo smile.
“The BJP IT Cell is running this smiling picture of women wrestlers they were while being taken to the police custody. The picture is fake. This is how the picture has been edited. How much more will BJP people stoop?” Bharadwaj tweeted.
We could not independently verify the authenticity of the image.
Amid criticism of the Delhi Police, which is under the control of the Union home ministry, a photograph of smiling Phogat sisters inside a bus had started doing rounds on social media, with users alluding that they were not serious about their protest.
As the picture went viral, Punia took to Twitter and posted two photos – one morphed and the other real (according to him). In the original photograph, the Phogat sisters and other detained wrestlers are wearing serious expressions while smiling in the altered photograph. “IT cell people are spreading this fake picture. We make it clear that a complaint will be filed against whoever posts this fake picture,” Punia wrote.
The Delhi Police has booked Punia, Phogat, and another wrestler Sakshi Malik along with their supporters on charges of rioting and obstructing public servants in discharge of duty after they were detained while marching to the new Parliament building on Sunday. The police said 700 people were detained across Delhi, including 109 protesters at Jantar Mantar.
Reacting to the development, Phogat said while it took the Delhi Police seven days to register an FIR against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, it didn’t even take seven hours to book those who were holding a protesting “peacefully.”
(With inputs from agencies)
