Maharashtra Police File Case Over AI Generated Temple Video

Maharashtra Police Launch Second Investigation

Following a complaint lodged by the Amritsar police commissionerate, the cyber crime wing of the Maharashtra Police has now registered a second case concerning a morphed video of the Golden Temple. This marks the second First Information Report (FIR) filed in the last five days against unknown individuals for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community.

Saab Singh of Damdami Taksal Jatha Bhindra (Mehta) confirmed this development in a statement released on Saturday. The case in Maharashtra was registered based on a complaint from Gursewak Singh, a resident of Mumbai. Sikh activist Jaspal Singh Sidhu and minority commission member Charandeep Singh also met with Maharashtra's cyber crime officials regarding the matter.

According to Saab Singh, the case was registered under Section 299 of the BNS and Section 67 of the IT Act for offending Sikh sentiments. He added that police authorities have provided assurance that a thorough investigation will be conducted to identify and arrest those responsible for generating and uploading the AI-based video.

Viral AI Video Sparks Outrage

A video created using artificial intelligence, which depicted the Golden Temple collapsing amidst floodwaters, recently went viral on social media. The fabricated clip caused significant distress and hurt the sentiments of the Sikh Community worldwide.

SGPC Takes Initial Legal Action

Earlier, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) took a strong stance against the video, lodging a complaint with Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. This led to the registration of the first FIR by the cyber crime wing of the Amritsar city police against unidentified accused.

Bhagwant Singh Dhangera, the General Manager of the Golden Temple, highlighted that the video had been shared and viewed thousands of times, leading to widespread resentment among Sikhs. He described the incident as unfortunate and noted a disturbing trend of AI technology being misused to alter images of Sikh gurus as well.

Calls for Government Action on AI Misuse

Jaspal Singh Sidhu, who is the president of the Maharashtra Sikh Samaj Coordination Committee, expressed that such instances of AI-generated pictures and digital content have become a major cause for concern for the community. He strongly urged the Union Government to implement immediate measures to prevent the sharing of such objectionable material on social media platforms.