VARANASI: Varanasi Police on Tuesday said a viral video purportedly showing two women performing a vulgar dance at the Lat Bhairav temple complex during a traditional festival was AI-generated and alleged that it was being circulated to tarnish the police’s image.Police said they would register a case over the circulation of the misleading video, news agency PTI reported.The video had triggered criticism from various quarters, with several people questioning the presence and conduct of policemen allegedly seen watching or recording the performance on their mobile phones.The Samajwadi Party’s media cell also criticised the BJP government over the purported video, alleging on X that obscene songs, dances and vulgar performances were being held even in temple premises and during religious events.“Those BJP people who used to point fingers at programmes at the Saifai Mahotsav, in the BJP government’s rule, obscene songs, obscene dances and vulgar performances are being held even in temple premises and religious events,” the SP media cell said in a post on X.It alleged that the BJP’s claims about “values, tradition, conduct and character” were belied by such incidents and accused the party of turning religious places into centres of “obscenity”, PTI reported.The video’s authenticity had not been independently verified earlier. It purportedly showed the women, dressed in ghaghra and sleeveless choli, dancing on a raised platform to Bhojpuri songs that critics described as vulgar.Temple authorities had said the video was from an event held as part of the annual procession of Baba Lat Bhairav and claimed that performances by nagar vadhus (courtesans) were part of a traditional practice associated with the festival.This year, the five-day Baba Lat Bhairav Barat celebrations were held from September 23 to 27.The festival marks the divine wedding of Baba Lat Bhairav, also known as Kapal Bhairav, with Goddess Bhairavi.As part of the traditional rituals, devotees carrying wedding offerings from the main shrine in Kazzakpura proceed to Visheshwarganj Sabzi Mandi for the Tilak ceremony.The procession subsequently stops at the Kaal Bhairav temple for rituals and aarti before concluding at the Lat Bhairav temple.Sanatan Rakshak Dal president Ajay Sharma alleged that such performances had been introduced only in recent years.“In the name of tradition, this vulgarity has been started for the last few years. There was no such tradition five or six years ago. If any programme had to be organised at the temple, it should have been a classical music programme. Making courtesans dance and spreading vulgarity in the name of religion has no place in religion or our scriptures,” Sharma said.Advocate and former general secretary of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Vikas Singh, questioned the conduct of the police personnel allegedly seen in the video.“This is not merely a matter of watching a dance or making a video. The question is about the police’s duty and dignity. If police personnel deployed for crowd and women’s security are seen making videos on mobile phones and busy on group calls while on duty, it is serious. The uniform is a symbol of responsibility, not a pass for entertainment,” Singh said.He demanded an impartial probe into the video and action against any police personnel found guilty of dereliction of duty.A social media user, Dharmendra Rajbhar, also criticised police deployment, alleging that instead of apprehending accused persons, policemen had been positioned near an orchestra performance, PTI reported.Another X user commented, “This type of nude dances did not exist in Varanasi and surrounding regions 10 years ago, even in villages. Don’t know how culture has fallen to such a low within a decade (sic).”Another X account stated, “Police are enjoying this, and you expect them to stop moral policing and harassment.”However, temple-linked people maintained that “the dance was part of the longstanding tradition” of Baba Lat Bhairav’s Barat and had been followed for centuries.Police, in its statement, said, “The above video is AI-generated and is being circulated with the intention of tarnishing the image of the police. In the mobile videos being made by the crowd, police standing in the background is not visible on any screen.”(With agency inputs)