Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 19 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has reiterated a 'well-planned conspiracy' against him after a latest report, released by the Punjab government on Thursday, state that the person in a controversial video allegedly showing him 'is not Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.'

The circulation of the video has triggered a controversy in the State.

The Punjab CM on Thursday said that the individual present in the video is an actor who looks like him. He further underlined that the Director General of Police (DGP) have been instructed to identify and arrest the accused.

In a video message issued on Thursday and posted on X, Mann said, 'It is not me in the viral video, but an actor who looks like me. 1,191 frames were examined during the forensic analysis; not a single frame matches me. A well-planned conspiracy was hatched to defame me. Instructions have been issued to the DGP to identify the conspirators and take action against them. The guilty will be apprehended and brought back from any corner of the world.'

Aam Aadmi Party Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Spokesperson Baltej Pannu addressing a press conference yesterday said that as per their forensic examination reports, the individual seen in the viral video is not Punjab Chief Minister Mann.

Cheema claimed that the footage had been examined by two government-recognised laboratories located outside Punjab. The minister alleged that the footage was created using another individual to resemble the Chief Minister and accused political opponents of attempting to damage Mann's public image. 'Conspiracy to malign Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann exposed !,' the AAP party said on its X handle.

'Two reputed, independent forensic labs have examined the video and reached the same conclusion: the individual seen in the footage is NOT CM Bhagwant Mann. Facial comparison, height analysis, body structure, posture, skin tone and side/back-profile examination all point to a clear mismatch. This is one of the most sinister anti-Panth conspiracies Punjab has witnessed in recent times. An attempt was made to weaponise a false video, hurt religious sentiments and malign a democratically elected Chief Minister for political ends. A thorough investigation will be conducted, and every individual involved in this conspiracy will be identified and brought to justice, no matter in which corner of the world they are hiding. The truth has prevailed and the conspiracy has been exposed. The people of Punjab can clearly see who is committed to ending acts of sacrilege by bringing a strict anti-beadbi law, and who treats matters of faith as a political tool in the pursuit of power,' the post read.

Earlier, the Akal Takht, led by acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, directed the Sikh community to shun ties with Mann over the controversy surrounding the video. Mann, however, has rejected the authenticity of the video, describing it as 'false propaganda.'

On January 15 this year, Mann, after being summoned, had appeared before the Secretariat of Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar. He was questioned by Sangh Sahib about the alleged viral video, but he maintained the video was fabricated. The Chief Minister had also proposed that the video be examined by a forensic laboratory.

Mann has 'categorically and completely' rejected the authenticity of the viral video and alleged that it was part of an orchestrated attempt to malign his image Mann said in a video message shared on X earlier.

He has also expressed concern over the recent decree issued by the Akal Takht regarding the video and alleged that individuals occupying 'high religious positions' were spreading misinformation at the behest of political interests. (ANI)