From 'AI Deepfake' to Fake Lab Reports: Bhagwant Mann's Escalating Standoff With Akal Takht.…
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann faced political and religious controversy in 2025 following allegations of deepfake videos and disputed forensic reports
- Incident date
- Oct 2025
- Target
- Bhagwant Mann
In October 2025, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann became the center of a significant political and religious controversy involving allegations of AI-generated content and claims of religious misconduct. The situation escalated after a viral video surfaced allegedly showing a person resembling the Chief Minister splashing alcohol toward portraits of Sikh Gurus, leading to a formal declaration against him by the Akal Takht.
What happened
The controversy involved two distinct phases of digital and forensic scrutiny. First, in October 2025, Punjab Police registered a case against a Canada-based individual for circulating videos purportedly featuring the Chief Minister. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) characterized this material as a deepfake campaign, noting that a Mohali court had ordered social media platforms to remove the content and make it non-searchable. Police investigations at the time suggested the material may have been generated using artificial intelligence, though the accused publicly challenged these claims.
Subsequently, a separate viral video depicting alleged religious misconduct was submitted by the Akal Takht to two government-approved forensic laboratories for analysis. These laboratories concluded that the footage showed no signs of digital manipulation, editing, or AI-generated tampering. Based on these forensic findings, the Akal Takht declared Mann a "Guru Dokhi" (one who has betrayed the Guru).
The ruling AAP party has maintained a firm stance against the implications of these reports. While acknowledging the forensic authentication of the video file itself, AAP State Media In-Charge Baltej Pannu argued that the reports failed to establish that the individual seen in the footage is actually Bhagwant Mann. The party maintains that the allegations are politically motivated efforts by opposition parties to defame the government. As of the latest developments, the Chief Minister has not issued a personal statement regarding the Akal Takht's decree, while opposition leaders have demanded his resignation.