Dharmasthala case: Police raid YouTuber Sameer's house over AI video defamation allegations

The Belthangady police on Thursday raided the house of Sameer M.D., a YouTuber accused of defaming a temple in Dharmasthala with an AI-generated video about the alleged mass burials at Dharmasthala.

C.N. Chinnaiah, a former sanitation worker, had alleged that multiple murders, rapes, and burials took place in Dharmasthala over the past two decades and that he was forced to bury several corpses during the period. However, the man has been arrested on charges of perjury and is being interrogated further.

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Following 2-3 days of questioning, the Belthangady police and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCOs) raided Sameer's rented home near Bannerghatta, carrying a warrant,  a Mangalore Mirror report said.

The police are also investigating Sameer's computer and mobile phone that he had used to make the AI-generated video in question.

This raid follows an earlier attempt to arrest Sameer which he foiled after he succeeded in obtaining a bail from a Mangaluru court. In July, he was charged with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 192, 240, and 353(1)(b) for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot and giving false information regarding an offence.

Opposition parties in Karnataka staged the 'Dharmasthala Chalo' rally earlier this week to condemn the ruling Congress for allegedly yielding to those who "conspired" to tarnish the Hindu temple. The BJP—which dubbed the Siddaramaiah government as 'anti-Hindu'—demanded a thorough probe by a central agency into the alleged conspiracy. 

The Congress, however, has questioned the BJP's motives behind the rally, with CM Siddaramaiah stating that his party respected Dharmasthala and the allegedly defamed temple there.

"Why did they not do it (agitation) at the beginning when the SIT was formed? After so many days, on getting to know that nothing was found (in excavations), they have started it. Isn't it hypocrisy?" CM Siddaramaiah added.

India