Authorities in Ladakh have launched a formal investigation into a deceptive deepfake video falsely attributing a controversial statement to the region’s top police official. On Thursday, October 2, 2025, police officially registered an FIR to identify and apprehend those behind the circulation of this digitally manipulated footage.
The video, which has rapidly spread across social media platforms like X, purports to show Ladakh’s Director General of Police (DGP) S.D. Singh Jamwal claiming that renowned climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was arrested under direct orders from the Defence Minister. However, this claim has been unequivocally debunked as a deepfake by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
According to the Cyber unit of Leh District Police, the video was “digitally manipulated using Deepfake AI with malicious intent” and possesses “the potential to disturb peace and harmony in the region.” In response to this grave threat, FIR 148 has been registered at Leh Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (353(2), 356) and the IT Act, 2000 (66C, 66D).
Further investigations are actively ongoing to trace the origins of this misinformation and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The deepfake emerges amidst a sensitive period for Ladakh. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was indeed arrested on September 26, following protests that erupted two days prior. These demonstrations, demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, tragically resulted in four deaths and 90 injuries across the Union Territory. It was a police team, led by DGP Jamwal himself, that took Mr. Wangchuk into custody.
District Police Leh has issued a stern appeal to the public, urging everyone to “always verify the content before sharing such videos.” They warned that “such misinformation shall be strictly dealt with as per law” and requested anyone encountering misleading posts or videos to “immediately inform Cyber Cell Leh.”