Punjab Police Deny Jantar Mantar Protesters’ Link To ISI-Backed Terror Module

Punjab Police on Thursday said there was no connection between protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and a Pakistan ISI-backed terror module recently busted by the Amritsar Commissionerate.

The clarification followed the circulation of edited clips from the Amritsar Police Commissioner’s August 4 press conference, which the police said created a misleading impression that the protesters were linked to the arrested members of the module.

According to a Punjab Police spokesperson, the original press conference had only stated that some of the accused had visited Jantar Mantar, carried out a recce of the area and allegedly planned to attack protesters with petrol bombs, Hindustan Times reported.

The spokesperson said the police had never claimed that the accused had participated in the demonstrations or that those protesting at Jantar Mantar had any association with the terror module.

Police alleged that some social media accounts circulated edited versions of the press conference by changing background visuals, selectively cutting portions of the original footage and adding captions that suggested a link between the arrested accused and the protesters.

According to Punjab Police, while the audio and factual statements made during the press conference were not altered, the selective editing and accompanying descriptions changed the context in which the remarks were presented.

The police said such edits could mislead viewers into wrongly concluding that the Jantar Mantar protesters were connected to the terror module.

Describing the circulation of the edited videos as a “serious matter”, the spokesperson said appropriate legal action was being initiated under provisions of the Information Technology Act against those allegedly responsible for spreading the misleading content.