Viral social media posts claiming a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was part of the crackdown by Delhi Police on student protesters from Delhi's Jamia Milia Islamia University (JMIU), are false
An undated image, showing what appears to be a plainclothes policeman wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, went viral late Monday with angry netizens asking Delhi Police why its personnel was not in uniform.
However, Delhi Police told BOOM that the man in the viral image is a police constable in the force and not an ABVP member.
It is not clear when and where the photo was taken.
The photograph flew around Indian social media as videos and images over the weekend showed police clashing with students who are protesting against the recently introduced Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Delhi's Jamia Milia Islamia University and Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) have been at the forefront of the student agitation.
Several posts on Facebook and Twitter have claimed that the man in the photograph is Bharat Sharma, a law student at Delhi University and a member of the ABVP, student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Click here to view an archived version of the post.
The same misleading claim has been reiterated on Twitter.
Click here to view the tweet.
VIRAL VIDEO SHOWING A PLAINCLOTHES MAN HITTING FEMALE PROTESTERS
Another video of a man wearing a red shirt lathicharging female protesters is also viral with claims that the man is Sharma, an ABVP member. The video is being shared with a screenshot of Sharma's now deleted Facebook profile.
VIDEO OF A MAN IN BLACK JACKET KICKING A PROTESTOR
A shocking video of a man kicking a protestor has gone viral with several saying that he is Bharat Sharma. This video is being linked with the image of a plainclothes man posing with a lathi in full riot gear and the video showing a man in a red shirt hitting female protestors.
FACT CHECK
MAN POSING IN FULL RIOT GEAR IS A DELHI POLICE CONSTABLE
BOOM contacted Delhi police who confirmed that the man striking a pose in full riot gear is a constable with the Delhi polices Anti Auto Theft Squad. MS Randhawa, DCP (Central), while speaking to BOOM said, "This image is of a constable with the Anti Auto Theft Squad of Delhi Police who was posted as security for the protests."
Photo of constable Arvind Kumar, as confirmed by Delhi police
Randhawa told India Today that the Delhi police enquired about the man seen in the above photo and found that he is constable Arvind who was "deployed near New Friends Colony on Sunday to control Jamia protestors". He added that members of specialised units like the AATS "mostly operate in plainclothes while controlling the unruly mob"
VIDEO OF A MAN KICKING A PROTESTOR IS OF BHARAT SHARMA
BOOM also found a tweet by Sharma himself, confirming that he is the one seen in the video kicking a protestor at the Delhi University campus.
He also took to Twitter to clarify that he was not the person seen in the full riot gear posing with other Delhi policemen or the man seen lathicharging female protestors. While Sharma did not respond to calls, reports suggest that Sharma is a law student at the Delhi University and "an active member of the ABVP"