Man arrested for morphing Rupani video: ‘Would see him sitting for hours with mobile, but sure my son is innocent’

KISHAN RUPANI would spend hours on his cellphone, posting and commenting on social media. The 28-year-old’s household didn’t suppose a lot of it till Monday, when police got here on the lookout for him.
Hours later, Kishan was arrested for allegedly morphing a video of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani utilizing Taylor Swift’s track, ‘I knew you were trouble’, and circulating it on social media. He was let loose on bail later after his assertion was recorded.
“We have never seen a police station nor have the police come home in my entire life. This is the first time, because of my son, that the police have come to my home,” Arvindbhai Rupani, Kishan’s father, informed The Indian Express on Tuesday. “We would see my son sitting for hours with his mobile phone, but I am sure my son is innocent and he has not done anything to defame such an important person.”
Seated on a diwan in a two-bedroom flat in Singhanpore space of Surat, the 70-year-old’s eyes turned moist as he learn the native newspapers which carried the information of his youthful son’s arrest.
Arvindbhai mentioned he and his household – spouse, elder son Ankit, 30, and Kishan – moved to Surat 12 years in the past from Bhavnagar, the place he ran a small diamond slicing and sharpening enterprise. He needed to shut that enterprise after the business was hit by recession.
“We faced financial crises, but Kishan was working in a textile embroidery factory in Surat. We wound up our business, sold our house in Bhavnagar and came to Surat,” he mentioned.
Kishan, who had handed class 12 from a Gujarati-medium faculty in Bhavnagar, had by then began a small embroidery manufacturing facility on a rented premises. His father and elder brother, who had studied until class 10, joined him.
“After coming to Surat, we first stayed in a rented house on Ved Road. Six years ago, we bought this flat. Our embroidery business [Rupani Fashions] turned out well,” Arvindbhai mentioned. Ankit acquired married just a few years in the past. The household, nonetheless, needed to bear a loss in 2017 when Arvindbhai misplaced his solely daughter, Radhika, who was married, to an sickness.
With their enterprise wanting up, the household was pondering of shopping for the premises on which their manufacturing facility is positioned however then the Covid lockdown got here as a setback, mentioned Ankit.

“With no business, we faced great financial losses and pulled through with savings. There are 20 people working in my factory looking after six machines. The factory runs round the clock. Sometimes I go to the factory at night and at other times Kishan goes to the factory. During day time, Kishan goes to the textile market in search of new clients as he is much smarter in business dealings. I mostly took after production,” he mentioned.
It was from this manufacturing facility premises that Kishan was picked by police on Monday.
DCP Surat crime department Rahul Patel mentioned Kishan posted the morphed video for ‘likes’ on his social media accounts. “We have questioned Kishan [about the post on CM Rupani]. He would make videos and photos on issues and put it on Instagram and WhatsApp groups to get more likes and followers. He knew this was the chief minister, yet he morphed it to to get more likes.”
Kishan’s Instagram deal with – gujju_smaily – has greater than 50,000 followers.

Patel mentioned the police got here throughout the video whereas scanning social media for pretend information associated to Covid. “We have seized his mobile phone and sent it to the Forensic Science Laboratory to get more information.”
According to Ankit, Kishan was “addicted” to social media. “Seeing him commenting on photos, I had warned him many times against it but he never listened,” he mentioned.
He hoped that Kishan has “learnt his lesson”. “I have strictly told him not to upload anything on Instagram or Whatsapp groups as it has landed us in trouble as our family respect is at stake. We are hopeful that from now, he will concentrate on business,” the elder brother mentioned.