Video row: Canada-based Samra denies Bhagwant Mann's mask claim

Chandigarh: A Canada-based man who has been accused by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of faking his video with his likeness, which has rocked Punjab with claims of sacrilege, has denied the allegation.

Jagman Samra denied that he got a mask resembling Mann and made the video by having someone put it on.

Mann on Thursday asserted that he was not in the alleged video and claimed that the person seen in the clip was wearing a mask resembling his face.


Also Read: Viral video row: BJP seeks Bhagwant Mann's resignation over 'mask theory' remarks

Samra denied having any role to play in the making of the video in a video message shared by SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on social media on Thursday.

"Neither did anyone bring a CM's mask to me, nor did I make payment to anyone. If anybody delivered it to me, then he should come forward," Samra said.

He also wondered why there was a need to get a "fake" forensic report.

Addressing the media in Mohali on Thursday, Mann showed the video clip to claim that the person seen in it was wearing a mask that resembled his face.

Also Read: Video row: BJP's Raghav Chadha seeks Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann's resignation

Mann claimed that a Canada-based person, whom he identified as Jagman Samra, brought a mask, which was delivered in a car.

The chief minister showed another video, claiming that Samra was holding the same mask.

"This blackmailer, who is holding this mask in his hand, put it on some other person and made a video," he claimed.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader claimed that the video was made in a hotel room in Abbotsford, Canada.

He said he has not visited that country since 2016, and the video was said to be shot after 2017-18.

"Who gave him money to make this video? Who is the producer and director of this video? We will reveal in the coming days," Mann said.

Mann said he met Samra once when he was in the People's Party of Punjab.

"He is not my friend. I have nothing to do with him. He lives in Abbotsford and hails from Sangrur," he said.

On June 15, the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of Sikhs, issued an edict against Mann over the content of the video.

The edict came after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj claimed that the video - purportedly showing a man resembling Mann - was found to be "authentic" by two forensic laboratories.

The Akal Takht summoned Mann in January this year for allegedly making comments on 'Guru ki Golak' (gurdwara donation box) and indulging in "objectionable activities" with the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the video clip.

The Haryana Police on Tuesday arrested two men in connection with the alleged procurement of a fabricated forensic report related to the video linked to the controversy.

On Thursday, the Gurugram Police obtained CCTV footage of two Punjab Police officers visiting a hotel here to allegedly arrange the "fabricated" forensic report of the video in question.

On June 23, the police arrested two men in connection with allegedly forging lab reports that claimed the person seen in the video was not Mann. Both were found to be contractual employees working with different government offices.

A city court sent both of them to eight days' police custody.