Congress leader Arun Reddy held in 3-day Police custody over Amit Shah video

Arun Reddy, a prominent figure within the Congress party responsible for managing its social media presence and the 'Spirit of Congress' X account, finds himself in a three-day stint in police custody over a controversial video involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Following a late-night arrest by the Delhi Police's IFSO unit on May 3, Reddy faced a judge who sanctioned the custody.

The video in question allegedly captures Shah denouncing reservations in the country. However, contradictory statements emerged during Shah's public appearance in Congress-governed Telangana, where he pledged support for quotas outlined in the Constitution for SCs, STs, and OBCs, but hinted at repealing what he termed "unconstitutional reservations" for Muslims if the BJP secured power in the state.

Reacting to Reddy's arrest, Congress MP Manickam Tagore, acting as the Telangana Congress in-charge, criticised it as an abuse of government authority. Tagore demanded Reddy's immediate release, decrying what he termed an authoritarian power play and initiated hashtags #ReleaseSpiritOfCongress and #ReleaseArunReddy on social media platforms.

Earlier in the week, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police summoned 16 individuals from various states, citing Sections 91 and 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), over the circulated 'doctored' video involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah. These individuals, including six members of Telangana's ruling Congress, were instructed to cooperate with the investigation, providing relevant documents and electronic devices as evidence.

In response, the BJP's Telangana unit filed a complaint against Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the Congress state chief, accusing them of tampering with Amit Shah's speech. Allegations were lodged at the Cyber Crime police station, alleging that the official X handle of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Party shared a 'morphed' and 'fabricated' video of Amit Shah