Police in Congress-ruled Karnataka on Wednesday filed a criminal case against two social media functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Assam unit for posting an AI-generated video that purportedly showed chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appearing to aim and fire at individuals wearing attire resembling that of members of the Muslim community.
The case was filed in Bengaluru on the complaint of businessman Ranjith Kumar R, dated February 12. He described the content as “highly objectionable and disturbing” and said the video appeared on the official BJP Assam social media handle under the title “Point Blank Shot…”.
Biswajith Khaund and Ron Bikash Gourav, identified as the convenor and co-convenor of the Assam BJP’s social media accounts, have been named as the accused in the case.
The complaint and the First Information Report (FIR) said the post included an image and video showing Sarma appearing to aim and fire a gun-like weapon at people wearing clothes resembling those of members of the Muslim community. The video showed Sarma firing at a photograph of two men and concluded with a stylised image of him dressed as a cowboy holding a gun.
The video included superimposed phrases, including “No mercy to Bangladeshis”, “Why did you go to Pakistan?” and “Foreigner-free Assam.” Sarma denied any knowledge of the now-deleted video.
Police said the post was alleged to contain provocative material that could disturb public order and promote enmity between communities.
The FIR against Khaund and Gourav was filed under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 192 (provocation intended to cause a riot) and 353(2) (circulation of false information or content intended to incite hatred or ill-will between groups).