A doctored news bulletin featuring AI-generated voice clones of journalist Rajat Sharma and Dr Bimal Chhajer, a cardiologist, is circulating with false claims that the latter was killed in a car explosion after speaking out against pharmaceutical companies.
The viral video also contains a statement by a police personnel whose face has been blurred. The segment has been overlaid with an AI-generated audio claiming that Dr Bimal Chhajer was receiving threats before the car explosion.
BOOM found that the viral video has been doctored using AI voice clone and the visuals have been overlaid with a fake audio. Furthermore, Dr Bimal Chhajer also released a video refuting the claims of his death.
In the minute-long viral video, Rajat Sharma can be heard saying in Hindi, "Today after a controversial interview Dr Bimal Chhajer's car exploded. Dr Bimal Chhajer has been fighting for justice for many years. He used to call pharmaceutical companies fraudsters and even stupid."
The police official in the clip can be heard saying, "Last night after a controversial interview, someone exploded Dr Bimal Chhajer's car. Before the incident, Dr. Bimal Chhajer also received threats. Unfortunately, we could not save our Dr Bimal Chhajer. For now, we are looking for the masterminds and criminals behind this crime."
The video has been shared on Facebook with the caption, "Dr Bimal Chhajer; MD (Allopathy Doctor); Aakhir Medical Mafia ke Shikar Ho hi Gaye...."
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The video is also circulating on WhatsApp with a similar claim.
Fact Check: Viral Video Doctored Using AI Voice Clone
BOOM has debunked several scam ads made using actual videos of popular TV news anchors such as Rajat Sharma and overlaying them with AI clones, to peddle fake cures or dubious investment schemes.
We first ran a keyword search on Google related to Dr Bimal Chhajer's death but did not find any credible media reports about a car explosion or the cardiologist's death.
We then ran reverse image searches on several keyframes of the viral video which led us to a video uploaded on India TV's YouTube channel on October 2, 2024 containing the original clip of Rajat Sharma. The viral segment can be seen from 30:36 minutes time stamp.
In the news bulletin Rajat Sharma does not speak about the cardiologist's death.
We then found the original visuals where the police personnel can be seen speaking about the doctor's death. In the original video, Kashmir IGP VK Birdi can be heard speaking about the Kulgam encounter that occurred in September, 2024.
We then tested the audio of Rajat Sharma using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool. The results confirmed that it was generated using artificial intelligence.
We also tested the viral video on another AI detector tool TrueMedia.org which showed substantial evidence of the audio being generated using an AI voice clone.
Furthermore, we found a video uploaded by SAAOL Heart Centre on their official YouTube channel where Dr Bimal Chhajer has issued a statement refuting the claims of his death calling them fake.
Who is Dr Bimal Chhajer?
Dr Bimal Chhajer is the founder of SAAOL - Science and Art of Living, an organisation that works in the field of cardiovascular disease treatment and research. Prior to this, he was worked as an assistant professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Dr. Chhajer has written 70 books about heart health and diseases.
