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Doppelganger, not Uttarakhand CM, in viral photo, says SSP
SSP refused to name the doppelganger who she said was a retired inspector of the Central Industrial Security Force
A viral photo showing Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat holding wine bottles is that of his doppelganger, a senior police official on Tuesday said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nivedita Kukreti , however, refused to name the doppelganger, who she said was a retired inspector of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
“The retired CISF inspector stays in Dehradun. He is innocent and has no hand in uploading the photo on social media. The photograph was clicked during a wedding in Pauri. It was cropped before being uploaded,” Kukreti said.
The SSP also refused to name the person who uploaded the photo. “The person is associated with a newspaper and hails from Pauri,” she said in reply to a specific query.
Meanwhile, the blame game between the BJP and the Congress continued to play out with the ruling party accusing the Opposition of running a slander campaign.
“The Congress conspired to circulate the fake photo. The photo was cropped by the Congress and a media house before they circulated it. The Congress is unhappy with CM’s policy of zero tolerance for corruption,” Rawat’s media adviser Ramesh Bhatt said.
The Congress hit back saying the Bhat’s allegation reflects the internal crisis the ruling BJP is going through.
The party accepted that its state spokesperson Vijay Pal Singh “may have forwarded the CM’s photo considering it genuine.” M D Joshi, the chief spokesperson of the state Congress said, “I claim that the photo is genuine. Let the CM order an inquiry.”
