Patiala, Dec. 5 -- A political row erupted on Thursday with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) sharing an alleged leaked audio clip, accusing Patiala SSP Varun Sharma and other district cops of orchestrating a conspiracy to stop opposition candidates from filing nominations for the December 14 zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections, a charge dismissed by the Patiala police.

Police have termed the audio clip as AI-generated and have registered an FIR under the Information Technology Act at the cyber cell police station.

Thursday was the last day of the nomination process, which began on December 1, followed by scrutiny on December 5, and withdrawal of candidature until 3 pm on December 6. An estimated 1.36 crore voters are eligible to p...