Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has made a dramatic try to debunk the controversial “blasphemy” video by claiming that the particular person in it was carrying a surreal masks, however the opposition has demanded that the brand new “masks video” itself be subjected to an unbiased forensic examination, elevating new questions.
A day after Mann held an in depth press convention in Mohali and alleged that Canada-based Jagman Samra had orchestrated a conspiracy in opposition to him utilizing a lookalike of Bhagwant Mann carrying a particular masks, political opponents questioned each the timing of the brand new protection and the veracity of the paperwork introduced by the Chief Minister.
Samra, alternatively, denied allegations that he organized the surreal masks and stated the video he launched was given to him by Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
“I didn’t create these movies and I have no idea who created them. I had them independently checked by DocuFraud (a Canadian institute) and so they discovered the movies to be real and didn’t point out masks in any respect. Akal Takht checked the movies. Equally, the 2 laboratories utilized by the Punjab authorities additionally didn’t point out masks. Why did not Bhagwant Mann speak about masks first?” requested Samra.
Samra’s social media accounts have been suspended on the request of the Punjab Police and are at present circuitously accessible in India, however a video of his response was shared on X by Congress chief Sukhpal Singh Khaira and senior Shiromani Akali Dal chief Bikram Singh Majithia.
#Jagman Samra’s newest #bomb on the masks! @BhagwantMann is standing increasingly uncovered!
We @INCIndia demand quick resignation, apology and censure from Kaira @kcvenugopalmp @Jairam_Ramesh @Pawankhera @bhupeshbaghel. pic.twitter.com/fyxRoTvpZL
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) June 26, 2026
ThePrint reached out to Maliwal for remark by means of cellphone calls and Whatsapp messages. This report shall be up to date when she responds.
Samra additionally questioned the premier’s declare that the particular person within the video was carrying sun shades all through as a result of a masks can not cowl his eyes. “The masks that the Prime Minister confirmed me in my hand has eyes. If the masks has eyes, why did I have to put on sun shades?” Samra requested.
“When and the place did I purchase the masks and who put it on? If I do know the main points of the masks, I can discover out the place I received it from. Why hasn’t the one that offered me the masks come ahead?” Samra requested the prime minister.
He additionally rejected Mann’s declare that they barely knew one another. At Thursday’s press convention, Mann claimed he had solely met Samra as soon as, throughout a go to to Canada a few years in the past. Nevertheless, Samra is heard claiming to have recognized Mann for years and that their households knew one another in Sangrur.
Half 2 Jagman Samra’s #bombshell assertion explains his shut relationship with @BhagwantMann and debunks his silly #Masks story! @INCIndia @AamAadmiParty @ArvindKejriwal @AAPPunjab @BJP4India @Akali_Dal_ pic.twitter.com/RDuNm2xbcm
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) June 26, 2026
Opposition leaders argued that Mr Mann’s newest rationalization raises a number of unanswered questions. Majithia questioned why the “masks concept” had come to mild solely now. “Till final week, Mann’s protection centered on the declare that the controversial video was generated by AI. After Akal Takht declared Mann an ‘anti-guru’ and ‘anti-Khalsa Panth’ primarily based on experiences from two Indian government-approved forensic laboratories, Mann modified his place and stated that whereas the video was not essentially AI-generated, the particular person proven in it was a distinct particular person.
“After the registration of the Gurugram FIR alleging a conspiracy to acquire favorable forensic experiences, Mann’s account advanced additional to assert that the particular person was a lookalike carrying a masks,” Majithia stated.
CHANDIGARH: Commenting on the controversy surrounding the viral video allegedly exhibiting Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Bikram Singh Majithia stated, “The CM has shared some issues within the video and I wish to share them with you.Right this moment, he has modified his assertion within the sixth… pic.twitter.com/0L0qL5rBDc
— IANS (@ians_india) June 25, 2026
Congress chief Sukhpal Khaira questioned why if masks have been so clearly seen, neither of the 2 experiences obtained by the Punjab authorities from institutes in Gurugram and Panchkula talked about them.
“If masks have been so apparent, why have been they not talked about within the two experiences produced by the Punjab authorities? Why has this rationalization come out solely now?” Kaira requested.
@BhagwantMann If there’s a “masks” story, please make clear why it was not talked about within the @AamAadmiParty authorities procured pretend forensic report.
Based on the pretend pretend report, forensic specialists examined 1141 completely different frames of your video. So why wasn’t it a “masks”? https://t.co/dLQVLxuW08
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) June 25, 2026
Mr. Kaira additionally disputed Mr. Mann’s claims concerning one of many movies proven throughout Thursday’s presentation.
Mann stated the clip exposing the masks allegations was despatched from Jagman Samra’s official TikTok account. Nevertheless, Kaira argued that the account was solely created in April this 12 months and couldn’t be the unique account the place the controversial content material first appeared. He claimed that the account itself gave the impression to be pretend and questioned why the prime minister had relied on it, presenting what he known as conclusive proof to the media.
Everyone knows by now that @AamAadmiParty is a bunch of tricksters and @BhagwantMann pulled one more trick to avoid wasting himself with out realizing he was additional implicating himself. @AAPPunjab fraudulently created a pretend ID for Jagman Samra who revealed controversial data on June 4, 2026. pic.twitter.com/ZsMthU1mQs
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) June 25, 2026
The controversy additionally prompted calls for one more forensic examination of the video Mann used at Thursday’s press convention.
Opposition leaders argued that if the prime minister was counting on a number of seconds of footage purportedly exhibiting Mr Jagman Samra holding a “Bhagwant Mann masks” in his automobile, that video itself needs to be subjected to an unbiased forensic evaluation, separate from the footage through which Mr Mann claimed he was carrying a masks.
The BJP additionally questioned Mann’s change in place, with celebration leaders claiming the prime minister had gone from claiming the video was generated by AI to claiming it featured a distinct particular person and insisting on using a surreal masks.
Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Social gathering MP Vikramjit Singh Sahni stated, “It is rather unhappy that for the previous six months, Bhagwant Mann and his authorities have been developing with new variations every single day. Even when his video was not there, even when he was not there – in early January he stated that it’s… pic.twitter.com/SRks2sz5U6
— IANS (@ians_india) June 26, 2026
The controversy started after a video surfaced that purportedly confirmed Mann performing an act thought-about blasphemous by some within the Sikh neighborhood.
When summoned by Akal Takht earlier this 12 months, Mann claimed the video was AI-generated. The Akal Takht newspaper then declared Mann an “anti-guru” and “anti-Khalsa Panth” on June 15, saying two Indian government-recognized forensic laboratories had discovered no proof of AI manipulation or tampering.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
Additionally learn: Mann gives ‘masks’ concept in blasphemy video controversy, denounces conspiracy by Canada-based ‘blackmailers’
