India’s Congress official arrested over alleged doctored video of Modi’s ally Amit Shah

Arun Reddy, the opposition party’s social media chief, is accused of editing footage showing Shah speaking at an election campaign

Opposition figures have accused PM Narendra Modi’s government of orchestrating criminal investigations to weaken rivals

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Indian Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the Indian parliament, in New Delhi. Photo: AP

Published: 5:42pm, 4 May 2024

Indian police said on Saturday they had arrested the social media chief of the country’s main opposition party over accusations he doctored a widely shared video during an ongoing national election.

The Congress party’s Arun Reddy was detained late Friday in connection with the edited footage, which falsely shows India’s powerful interior minister Amit Shah vowing in a campaign speech to end affirmative action policies for millions of poor and low-caste Indians.

Shah is often referred to as the second-most powerful man in India after Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the pair have been close political allies for decades.

Reddy “was arrested yesterday on investigation about … a doctored video of the home minister”, deputy commissioner of Delhi police Hemant Tiwari said.

“We produced him in the court and he is in police custody.”

Activists of India’s youth Congress protest near the residence of India’s Home Minister Amit Shah demanding his resignation in New Delhi in 2021. Photo: AFP

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed confirmed Reddy’s arrest but denied he was responsible for creating or publishing the clip.