AMRITSAR: Akal Takht on Monday intensified its standoff with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after deputy Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargazi said that a forensic science lab had found that two controversial videos allegedly featuring the chief minister were genuine, directly refuting Mann’s claim that the videos were AI-generated hoaxes.
One video allegedly shows Mann pouring alcohol on an image depicting 10 Sikh gurus, while another allegedly shows Mann pouring alcohol on a photo of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and attempting to urinate on it.
“The report clearly states that the video has not been tampered with and was not generated by artificial intelligence. Both institutes have concluded that the video is authentic,” Galgazi told the congregation.
Acting Jathedar added that the institute issues certificates indicating that experts are prepared to defend their findings in court.
Mann declined the opportunity to name his lab.
What gives the Akal Takht discoveries special weight is the series of events that preceded them. According to documents cited by Akal Takht, the secretariat wrote to Mann on January 22, 2026, informing him that he had been instructed a week earlier to appoint two forensic laboratories of his choice to examine the video. The Secretariat asked the Prime Minister to provide the names, addresses and authorized contact details of these institutes.
Neither Mr. Mann nor his office provided the name of the forensic laboratory in response.
In the absence of a response, Akal Takht proceeded with its own forensic examination and presented the results to the Panthic rally on Monday.
The announcement represents the strongest public challenge yet to Mann’s defense. The prime minister and his office have repeatedly insisted that the video was fabricated and generated by AI. Gargazi noted that Mann had appeared before Akal Takht earlier and claimed in the commercial that the person seen in the video was not him.
“He comes here and says, ‘That wasn’t me,'” Galgazi told the rally.
According to the forensic report presented by Gargaj, frame-by-frame analysis found no signs of editing, splicing, compositing, or visual tampering, and no indications related to AI-generated or deepfake content. Investigators concluded that the recording was consistent with digital video shot using traditional methods.
Representatives from several Sikh organizations attended the meeting, which continued late in the day. Several speakers called for strict action against Mann and his cabinet, according to participants who attended the proceedings.
The development is significant because the Akal Takht, Sikhism’s highest secular authority, can summon individuals accused of religious misconduct and prescribe religious penalties.
