SRINAGAR, India: An Indian air force member was killed and four more injured when suspected rebels ambushed a military convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir, an official statement said, as campaigning for national elections continues in the disputed territory.

The convoy was attacked by an unknown number of armed militants who sprayed automatic rifle fire toward at least one air force truck in the mountainous Poonch area, 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar, the air force said in a statement.

Five air force personnel were hit in the firefight late Saturday and “one Air Warrior succumbed to his injuries later,” it said, identifying the dead man as a corporal.

A neighboring constituency took part in the first phase of India’s general election on April 19, and Poonch voters were originally scheduled to cast their ballots this week but the Election Commission of India has postponed the polling to May 25 because of inclement weather in recent days.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the high-altitude territory in full but administering it in parts.

Since 1989, rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.

The conflict has left tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants dead.

Rebel activity in the territory has registered an uptick since last month as campaigning for the elections picked up in the restive region.

In April, three suspected rebels were killed and a police officer and three soldiers wounded in three separate clashes across the territory.

Violence has drastically dropped since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and stepped up a security chokehold.

Voting in India’s six-week-long national election, which started last month, will end on June 1.

BENGALURU/LUCKNOW: Manipulated videos are taking center stage as campaigning heats up in India’s election, with fake clips involving two top aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggering police investigations and the arrest of some workers of his rival Congress party.

In what has been dubbed as India’s first AI election, Modi said last week fake voices were being used to purportedly show leaders making “statements that we have never even thought of,” calling it a conspiracy “to create tension in society.”

Indian police — already investigating the spread of fake videos showing Bollywood actors criticizing Modi — are now investigating a doctored online clip that showed federal home minister Amit Shah saying the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will stop certain social guarantees for minorities, a subject sensitive for millions of voters.

Shah retorted on X, posting his “original” and the edited “fake” speech and alleging — without providing any evidence — that the main opposition Congress was behind the video it created to mislead the public. The minister said “directions have been issued to the police to address this issue.”

Indian police arrested at least nine people, including six members of Congress’ social media teams, in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Telangana and New Delhi last week for circulating the fake video, according to police statements.

Five of the Congress workers were released on bail, but the most high-profile arrest made by the cybercrime unit of New Delhi police came on Friday, when they detained a Congress national social media coordinator, Arun Reddy, for sharing the video. New Delhi is one region where Shah’s ministry directly controls police. Reddy has been sent into three-day custody.

The arrest has sparked protests from Congress workers with many posting on X using the #ReleaseArunReddy tag. Congress lawmaker Manickam Tagore said the arrest was an example of “authoritarian misuse of power by the regime.”

Congress’ head of social media, Supriya Shrinate, did not respond to messages and an email seeking comment.

MISINFORMATION

India’s election from April 19 to June 1 will be the world’s largest democratic event. With nearly a billion voters and more than 800 million Internet users, tackling the spread of misinformation is a high stakes job. It involves round-the-clock monitoring by police and election officials who often issue take down orders to Facebook and X as investigations start.

In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, more than 500 people keep tabs on online content, flagging controversial posts and coordinating with social media companies for their removal when needed, police chief Prashant Kumar told Reuters on Saturday.

Another fake video that sparked a storm last week showed Yogi Adityanath, the state’s chief minister, criticizing Modi for not doing enough for families of those who died in a 2019 militant attack. Though fact checkers said the video was created using different parts of an original clip, state police called it an “AI generated, deepfake.”

Using Internet address tracking, state police arrested a man named Shyam Gupta on May 2 who had shared the fake video post on X a day earlier, receiving over 3,000 views and 11 likes.

The police have accused Gupta of forgery and promoting enmity under Indian law provisions that can carry a jail term of up to seven years if convicted. Reuters could not reach him as he is currently serving a 14-day custody period.

“This person is not a tech guy. Had he been tech savvy, arresting him quickly would not have been possible,” said police officer Kumar.