Centre asks Twitter to remove 'manipulated media' tag for 'Congress toolkit' tweets: Report
New Delhi, May 21: The government has objected to Twitter using 'manipulated media' tag for tweets on an alleged Congress toolkit used to target the Centre over its COVID-19 handling, sources said.
The government has asked Twitter to remove the 'manipulated media' tag as the matter is pending before law enforcement agency, and made it clear that the social media platform cannot pass judgment when the issue is under investigation.
Investigation will determine the veracity of the content and not Twitter, it has asserted while asking the microblogging platform not to interfere in the investigation process.
According to sources, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has written a strong communication to the global team of Twitter registering its objection to the 'manipulated media' tag on tweets made by some political leaders with reference to the toolkit allegedly created to undermine, derail and demean the efforts of the government against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its communication to Twitter, the ministry has stated that a complaint has already been made by one of the concerned parties before the local law enforcement agency questioning the veracity of the toolkit and the same is under investigation.
While the local law enforcement agency is undertaking the investigation, Twitter has unilaterally drawn a conclusion in this matter and arbitrarily tagged it as 'manipulated media', government sources said.
Such tagging by Twitter appears pre-judged, prejudiced and a deliberate attempt to colour the investigation by local law enforcement agency, the sources pointed out.
The ministry has termed such unilateral action by Twitter as an effort to influence the fair investigation process and a clear overreach, which is totally unwarranted.
The ministry has further stated in its communication that Twitter unilaterally chose to go ahead and designate certain tweets as 'manipulated', pending investigation by the law enforcement agency.
Such action not only dilutes the credibility of Twitter as a neutral and unbiased platform facilitating exchange of views by the users but also puts a question mark on Twitter's status as an "intermediary", they said.
This comes in the backdrop of Twitter labelling as 'manipulated media' a tweet by BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on the alleged toolkit prepared by the Congress to target the Modi government.
Twitter says it "may label Tweets that include media (videos, audio, and images) that have been deceptively altered or fabricated."
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Karnataka Transport Dept uncovers alleged ₹37 lakh tax evasion involving Lamborghini in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Officials of the Karnataka Transport Department have uncovered an alleged tax evasion case involving a luxury Lamborghini Huracan Evo in Bengaluru. The evasion was carried out with forged documents which were allegedly used to evade over ₹37 lakh in road tax and penalties, officials said on Monday.
According to a report published by The Indian Express, an anonymous email was received by the transport department on December 12, 2025, which alleged that using fabricated documents, H1 Car Care had fraudulently registered the high-end vehicle at the Kasturinagar Regional Transport Office (RTO). The additional commissioner (Enforcement) ordered an inquiry after photographs of the allegedly forged paperwork, attached to the email were examined.
A police complaint was filed by Senior Motor Vehicle Inspector Ranjith N at the Kodigehalli police station. The complaint noted that the Lamborghini, bearing registration number KA-03-NX-0016, was originally purchased by Harsha Infra Cons Pvt Ltd from a Lavelle Road showroom on June 1, 2022, for ₹3,00,68,729.
The vehicle was temporarily registered at the Electronics City RTO from June 2 to July 1, 2022. Later the company sought permission to register it at a Regional Transport Office in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Investigators discovered that the accused had allegedly created fraudulent documents. He stated that H1 Car Care purchased the same vehicle in September 2025, about three years after it was sold and registered to Harsha Infra Cons. The alleged purchase price was shown as ₹3,00,58,729.
An official quoted by TIE said that the forged documents reused the same invoice number that had originally been issued to the first buyer, which is illegal. Investigators called an authorized Lamborghini dealer during verifications, who confirmed that the vehicle was sold to Harsha Infra Cons. The dealer further claimed that the invoice dated September 1, 2025, was reportedly issued to H1 Car Care, however it was never generated by the showroom and seemed to be faked.
After reviewing the paperwork, the Kasturinagar RTO determined that the fake papers were utilized to achieve the illegal registration. Officials informed that the vehicle was also undervalued to evade road tax and penalties amounting to over ₹37 lakh accumulated over the three-year period.
Following confirmation of the forgery, senior transport officials ordered the immediate seizure of the vehicle. The Lamborghini was traced on February 7 and seized from Sahakarnagar, where it was found linked to premises associated with H1 Car Care.
