Punjab row over ‘Mann video’: Police get custody of two in forensic report case, no ‘labs’ at Delhi and Haryana addresses

The Gurgaon Police told a Gurgaon court that custody of the two accused, Arun Mahendru and Ankit Bhardwaj, was needed to investigate the bribery allegation.

“The accused are required to be interrogated in custody for recovering the devices that they used to analyse the videos. They are also required to be questioned on the involvement of other individuals who could be involved, and on their interactions or dealings with these individuals,” a highly placed source told The Indian Express.

Gurgaon Police have not identified the two Punjab Police officers whom the complainant, Jaspreet Singh, has accused of bribery. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)-Crime Naveen Sharma of the Gurgaon Police told The Indian Express on Wednesday that investigators were continuing to examine CCTV footage from a five-star hotel in the city where the two officers allegedly stayed and met with Jaspreet Singh on June 15 and 16.

“So far we have not contacted the Punjab Police or any of their officials to assist with or join the probe. We shall do so after getting more evidence… Footage from the hotel is still being looked at before taking any call on this,” ACP Sharma said.

However, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP politicians have been naming a DIG- and an SP-level officer of the Punjab Police, and a purported video of the two men has been in circulation.

A senior Gurgaon Police officer said: “The hotel records, hotel bills, and CCTV footage of multiple areas in the hotel show the presence of the two Punjab Police officers… We shall proceed as per the law and take future course of action as required.”

Visits by The Indian Express on Wednesday to two addresses where the alleged fake forensic report on the purported video featuring Mann was prepared found no “forensic labs”.

Cyberyaan Lab in Ganesh Nagar near Central Hospital in Tilak Nagar in West Delhi is a training centre where young people are taught about cybersecurity.

Kharak Gagar village in Haryana’s Jind, where the premises of “Cipher Sentinel Lab” are supposed to be located, only has the private residence of Ankit Bhardwaj, one of the two men arrested by Gurgaon Police.

Jaspreet Singh has told Gurgaon Police that he had asked Ankit Bhardwaj and Arun Mahendru to prepare the fake forensic report. He had allegedly given a small portion of the Rs 10 lakh that he had received to one of the two men.

“We have never heard of Arun Mahendru, and he does not work here. We are just a cybersecurity training centre for kids,” a man who identified himself as an employee of Cyberyaan Lab told The Indian Express.

The “forensic” report submitted by Arun, who was arrested on Tuesday evening, bears the name of Cyberyaan Lab. Gurgaon Police have said he worked as a contractual employee with a government department in Panchkula, and gave a “report of video analysis in the name of Cyberyaan Lab which does not exist on the ground”.

Jaspreet Singh has told police that he had no knowledge of the authenticity, technical competence, or official registration of either Cyberyaan or Cipher Sentinel.

The Cyberyaan employee, who declined to give his name, said they did no “AI testing” or certification of videos for government or private authorities.

“We have been running for four years now. We teach kids about ChatGPT etc. Those who train here are school passouts, or Arts or Commerce graduates who want a job in Internet companies or government departments,” the employee said.

A second employee added: “We have never worked with or trained government officials, from Panchkula or anywhere else. But we will cooperate with the police as needed. They have not contacted us so far.” This employee too declined to give his name.

On its website, Cyberyaan describes itself as a training and consultancy centre focused on cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and software development. It claims to have a branch office at Sikanderpur in Gurgaon.

According to the website, the institute is led by its founder and CEO Pankaj Yadav. It offers a one-year diploma in cybersecurity, besides courses on network and software testing.

In Kharak Gagar, a village with a population of around 2,500, residents expressed surprise over the allegations against Ankit Bhardwaj. There is no laboratory at the address for Cipher Sentinel Lab, and villagers said they had no knowledge of Ankit operating any such facility.

“There is no laboratory in the village. We were earlier told that he was pursuing some course. His family enjoys a good reputation here,” village sarpanch Baljeet Kundu said.

Another villager said, “We were shocked when we learnt about his arrest. Even during his school days at a private school in a neighbouring village, he was not known to roam around unnecessarily or get into trouble.”

Ankit’s parents told The Indian Express that policemen from Gurgaon and Jind had arrived in the village around 10.30 pm on June 20 and taken him away.

“They asked his name. When he identified himself as Ankit, they asked him to accompany them. They neither told us what the case was nor gave any other details,” Ankit’s father Balwan Sharma (56), a truck driver, said.

According to Sharma, the police also took away two laptops, two mobile phones, and the CCTV recording unit installed at their house. “However, they returned my phone and my wife’s phone after checking them,” Balwan said.

Sharma said Ankit is the youngest of three siblings, and had joined the National Investigation Agency (NIA) at a contractual position in New Delhi on November 3, 2025, at a monthly salary of Rs 60,000.

Before that, he had worked for several months with a private firm as a forensic expert. His son had studied forensic science after completing a course in computers, Sharma said.

“He does not have any laboratory here. If there is any laboratory, it may be in Delhi. He would usually come home only on Saturdays and Sundays after every few weeks,” Sharma said.

“We still do not know what the problem is. We have only learnt through video clips circulating on YouTube that it is related to a video involving the Punjab Chief Minister,” he said.

Ankit’s mother, Kavita, said her son had come home after almost a month around 9 am on June 20. “That same night, when we were asleep, the police arrived. They asked Ankit to accompany them. He asked them, ‘Sir, what is the matter?’, but they gave no answer,” she said.