ED summons Ludhiana CP Swapan Sharma over fake forensic report in Bhagwant Mann video case
The ED has summoned Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma to its Chandigarh office on October 19 in the fake forensic report case linked to a viral video of Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann
PTC Web Desk: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma in a case about fake forensic reports. He has been asked to appear at the agency’s Chandigarh office on October 19. ED officials confirmed this. The summons asks him to appear in person.
The case is linked to a viral video from June. The video allegedly showed Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann splashing liquor on pictures of Sikh Gurus. It spread fast on social media.
Bhagwant Mann later went to the Akal Takht and clarified that he was not the man in the video. He called the clip AI-generated.
The Gurugram Police then arrested two men, Arun Mehandru and Ankit, both aged 25. The police alleged they conspired to prepare forged forensic and cyber analysis reports on the video.
Later, another video came out. It allegedly showed Sharma sitting with two persons in Gurugram. Opposition leaders alleged that a “settlement” had been reached to get a fake forensic report made.
According to the ED’s information, Sharma had met some experts in Gurugram. The allegation is that these meetings were about creating fake reports to show that the video was AI-generated.
The ED case is based on an FIR registered by Gurugram Police and the arrests of the two men.
Also Read | Bhagwant Mann liquor-splash video row: Akal Takht declares CM guilty of disrespecting Guru and anti-Panth, Jathedar says liquor video is authentic
Backgrounder: The Bhagwant Mann Video Row
The controversy centres on a video that purportedly shows a man resembling Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann pouring alcohol on pictures of Sikh gurus. The clip traces back to October 2025, when Canada-based NRI Jagman Samra uploaded a video purportedly showing Mann holding a glass of alcohol. Sprinkling liquor before Gurus’ portraits is widely seen as violating Sikh Maryada.
Bhagwant Mann was summoned to the Akal Takht in January 2026. On January 15 he told the clergy the video was fake or AI-generated and that it could be forensically examined at any lab in the country. On June 15, Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj said two Central government-recognised labs found no tampering and no sign of AI. The five high priests declared Mann “Guru Dokhi” and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” and directed Sikhs to shun ties with him.
Mann has denied the video. AAP’s Punjab unit claimed two forensic examinations concluded the person was not the Chief Minister, while spokesperson Baltej Pannu argued the lab reports did not establish who appears in the video. Bhagwant Mann later said the person was an actor, then claimed the man was wearing a mask resembling his face. The BJP accused him of repeatedly changing his stand.
The row escalated when the Haryana Police registered an FIR over an allegedly forged forensic report, after a Sirsa resident alleged he was pressured and coerced into producing it.
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