Additional Director-General of Police (CID) P.V Sunil Kumar has said that the certificate published by U.S.-based Eclipse Forensics on the veracity of the video which purportedly featured Member of Parliament from Anantapur Gorantla Madhav is not an authentic one.
The video, which had a conversation between the MP and another one on their mobile phones, created a furore with Opposition parties alleging that the conversation had breached all decency.
A few Telugu Desam Party leaders had, on the basis of the certificate purportedly issued by Eclipse Forensics, said that the video was authentic and had not been morphed.
Mr. Sunil Kumar said that in reply to his letter, Eclipse Forensics' Jim Stafford informed that the certificate in circulation was not original and he further clarified that the certificate was not provided by him.
Mr. Stafford had earlier informed in the mail that the video provided to him was recorded on a mobile device while it was being played on another media device.
In an email to Mr. Sunil Kumar, Mr. Stafford reportedly said: “I was not asked to determine the authenticity of the video being played and have not offered an opinion on it in response to the request made by Mr. Pothini Prasad. Without examining it I cannot speculate whether it is authentic or not.”
Mr. Stafford also said that Mr. Prasad requested two minor changes to the report, but the latter had not waited till he made the changes and circulated the reports in social media.
“Any video can only be examined by forensics if the original source of the video is determined. The video in circulation is not original content and therefore, the forensics cannot determine its authenticity,” said Mr. Sunil Kumar.
