New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday criticised senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan over the alleged circulation of a doctored video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and called the act a part of the "conspiracy to destroy India's image".This came as Delhi Police registered an FIR against Bhushan over the circulation of a doctored video of the Russian Foreign Minister, which purportedly contained remarks hostile to India.According to Delhi Police, the matter came to light during cyber patrolling on Tuesday (November 3), when they noticed a social media post alleging that a purportedly manipulated video of the Russian Foreign Minister had been shared from Bhushan's handle.Taking to X, Rijiju said, "Earlier also, this Prashant Bhushan had circulated a fake news that Judges and Ministers went to London to play Badminton! And he even didn't apologise for it. It's part of the conspiracy to destroy India's image and constitutional institutions of India."

In a post on X, Delhi Police said, "On 03.11.2026, during cyber patrolling, it came to notice that the social media handle @thequotesnews has claimed that a purported doctored video of the Russian Foreign Minister, hostile to India, was shared from Prashant Bhushan's handle @pbhushan1.""Through the said video, there is an allegation of disseminating misleading, defamatory, and inflammatory content to incite public disturbance and spread rumours," it added.The police further said that a case has been registered in this connection under Sections 336(4), 353(1)(c), 356 and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66C of the Information Technology Act.The FIR, numbered 263/26, has been registered at the Special Cell police station, officials said.

The development comes after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) fact-check unit debunked a digitally manipulated video purportedly showing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticising India over its internal affairs and oil purchases.The video, shared by Bhushan, was also denied by the Russian Embassy, following which the MEA issued an official clarification, confirming that the clip was entirely fabricated.The MEA's Official FactCheck account also labelled the video as "fake" and posted on X: "Fake Alert!!! The video of the Russian Foreign Minister being used in this post is fake!"The Indian and Russian authorities have cautioned against the growing challenge of digital disinformation and AI-generated misinformation, particularly the potential impact of fabricated content on international relations.

/IANS