BJP leader Agnimitra Paul shares AI video claiming TMC’s Bratya Basu caught on camera taking bribe

A day before the second phase of West Bengal elections, BJP leader and the party’s Asansol South candidate Agnimitra Paul shared a video purportedly showing Trinamool Congress leader and incumbent education minister Bratya Basu accepting a bribe. (Archive)

Allegations are emerging against West Bengal’s Education Minister, Bratya Basu, with claims that bribes are being taken after file approvals.

Such serious charges demand a transparent and impartial investigation. pic.twitter.com/1XnJJwM19u

— Agnimitra Paul BJP (@paulagnimitra1) April 28, 2026

User @BhairavVaam also tweeted the same video with the same claim. (Archive)

#BreakingNews 🚨 #Kolkata
Just Before the 2nd Phase Election A Video of West Bengal Education Minister Brapta Basu surfaces where he is being seen taking bundles of cash in exchange of signing files.

Even in the Middle of the Election TMC ‘s only focus is to loot people. pic.twitter.com/ZTHgi0wUBU

— Bhairav 🔱🕉️ 🇮🇳 (@BhairavVaam) April 27, 2026

Fact Check

The viral video shows multiple visual inconsistencies that align with typical AI-generated artifacts. Right at the start, Basu’s mouth briefly warps mid-speech while he is on the phone. Shortly after, as he lifts his left hand, his thumb momentarily vanishes before reappearing in the next frame. The slowed-down clip below brings these irregularities into sharper focus.

When Basu is seen turning a page in a notebook, his ring and little fingers appear to blend into the page, while only part of his middle finger remains visible — a distortion highlighted in red.

Furthermore, after Basu is handed the cash, his hand appears unusually large, with the fingers looking visibly distorted.

Further, A closer look at the purported news bulletin raises further doubts. The outlet name appears as “तहलका TV” in Hindi, while the ticker runs in Bengali — an unusual mismatch for a regional broadcast. Additionally, Alt News could not find any credible news reports carrying either the viral video or the claim associated with it.

We also could not find any channel named तहलका TV which had a logo like the one seen on the viral clip. There is a channel named Tahalka Live TV, which has a distinctly different logo. See the comparison below:

So, to sum up, the video shared by BJP leader Agnimitra Paul on the even of second phase polling in West Bengal is AI generated.