Old Video Of Etawah SP Talking About BJP Bringing Bombs To Protest Falsely Linked To Recent Kanpur Violence

A video of a police officer speaking over the phone, while dressed in riot gear, has been going viral on social media with claims that it is from the recent communal violence in Kanpur.

On June 3, violence broke out in Yateemkhana, Pared, and Nai Sadak areas of the city during a bandh called by a local group. A mob had tried to force the shopkeepers to shut their stores in protest against the derogatory remarks made on Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

The video shows police personnel dressed in riot gears, with one officer talking over the phone, saying, (Translated) "They have bricks, and stones, and they've also hit me with the stones, sir. The BJP people have brought bombs too, along with the MLA and district president. And Vimal Bhadauria was with them."

A Facebook user shared this video and wrote, "कानपुर में पुलिसकर्मी खुद अपने अधिकारियों को बता रहे हैं कि बीजेपी वाले बम भी लेकर आये थे लेकिन उसके बाद भी गिरफ्तारी केवल मुस्लिम की हुई कोई भी बीजेपी कार्यकर्ता गिरफ्तार नहीं हुआ! सत्ता इसी का नाम है देख लीजिए."

[English Translation: In Kanpur, the policemen themselves are telling their officers that the BJP had also brought bombs, but even after that the arrest was made only of Muslims, no BJP worker was arrested! This is what power is...have a look.]

A Facebook user wrote, "कानपुर दंगे, ये वीडियो कानपुर दंगे का बताया जा रहा है... अगर नहीं भी है तो दंगे में बीजेपी की क्या भूमिका होती है वो समझी जा सकती है... बहुत गौर से इस वीडियो को सुनिएगा जिसमें एक पुलिस अफसर अपने अफसर से दंगे के समय मौजूद दंगाइयों को देख और समझ कर क्या रिपोर्ट कर रहा है... इस वीडियो में बहुत साफ़ साफ़ पुलिस अफसर रिपोर्ट करते हुए बता रहा है कि, दंगा स्थल पर बीजेपी का MLA और बीजेपी वाले दंगा कर रहे हैं और बम साथ लेकर आए हैं...अब ये किसी सांठ-गांठ से बीजेपी MLA लो और बीजेपी वालों को सीन से ग़ायब करके सारे दंगे की जिम्मेदारी मुस्लिम लोगों पर डाल दी जाती है? क्या सिस्टम जवाब देगा?... अधिक से अधिक साझा करें ताकि सत्य का पता चले."

[English Translation: This video is being told of Kanpur riots...Even if it is not, then what is the role of BJP in the riots, that can be understood. Listen very carefully to this video in which a police officer is reporting to his officer after seeing and understanding the rioters present at the time of riot. In this video, very clearly the police officer is reporting that, BJP MLA and BJP are rioting at the riot site and have brought bombs with them. Now take this BJP MLA with some nexus and the responsibility of all the riots is put on the Muslim people by making the BJP people disappear from the scene? Will the system respond?... share as much as possible so that the truth is known.]

It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.

Claim:

Viral video is from recent Kanpur communal clash where policeman mentioned BJP workers bringing bomb in the protest.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact check team verified the claim and found it to be false. The viral video is from 2021.

During the initial investigation, we used InVid's Keyframe Analysis tool to isolate the keyframes of the viral video. We then conducted a reverse image search on one of the keyframes which led us to a video report of NDTV dated 10 July 2021 in which similar footage can be seen. According to the report, the man in the viral video is SP of Etawah. In the Panchayat elections of UP, there have been reports of violence, stone pelting, firing and dharna of BJC members from all the districts. In the viral video, after the violence near the polling station in Etawah, SP City Prashant Kumar can be seen telling his senior that 'BJP worker have brought stones, bricks and they have slapped him too." He also said that these people had also brought bombs.

On searching more, we also found a report of NavBharat Times dated 11 July 2021. According to the report, the supporters of BJP MLA Sarita Bhadauria had a scuffle with SP City Prashant Kumar during the block chief election in Etawah, UP. Later, the BJP district president denied the claim.

It is evident from our investigation that the viral video is from june 2021 during the Panchayat election. In the video, Etawah SP Prashant Kumar claimed that BJP workers brought stones, bomb to a protest and they even slapped him too. It has nothing to do with the recent Kanpur violence. Hence, the viral claim is false.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

Also Read: No, This Video Of 'Hindus Pelting Stones' Is Not From Recent Kanpur Communal Violence