New Delhi: A video showing a man in a police uniform and khaki turban in an inebriated state has gone viral on social media. The man, who is seen lying on a field, attempts to lift himself from the ground but fails to get up. Meanwhile, an onlooker comes and places an empty alcohol bottle near the drunk person while the camera zooms on it to focus on the name of the brand.
The video has been shared by several Twitter and Facebook accounts with captions that are taking a jibe at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Punjab chief minister-designate Bhagwant Mann.
Mann, a former stand-up comedian who had once publicly vowed not to touch alcohol, is set to take oath as new Punjab chief minister on 16 March. On 10 March, AAP registered a landslide victory by winning 92 out of 117 seats in the state’s assembly elections.
One of the accounts that shared the video on Twitter was Deepak Mishra, a member of Lucknow BJP. His tweet was posted with a Hindi caption that means ‘change has begun in Punjab’.
पंजाब में बदलाव शुरू हो गया ??https://t.co/0Q9TllBo9U pic.twitter.com/8a133ow9QS
— Deepak Mishra (@deepakmbjp) March 12, 2022
Another Twitter account, by the name ‘Rosy’ , shared the video with the caption, “Bhagwant Mann AAP Rule Starts in Punjab”.
Bhagwant Mann AAP Rule Starts in Punjab ?? pic.twitter.com/q0kWyA4Epr
— Rosy (@rose_k01) March 12, 2022
Twitter username Ashish Jaggi shared the video with the caption, “When your CM is Pegwant Mann”.
When your CM is Pegwant Mann ?
— Ashish Jaggi (@AshishJaggi_1) March 12, 2022
The Twitter accounts of Deepak Mishra, Rosy and Ashish Jaggi are followed by several verified handles, including Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
Deepak Mishra (@deepakmbjp) is also followed by BJP MLA Bamba Lal Diwakar and MLC Dinesh Pratap Singh.
User Rosy (@rose_k01) followers include verified handles of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, wrestler and BJP leader Babita Phogat and UP BJP leader Dinesh Chaudhary.
Twitter handle (@AshishJaggi_1) is followed by the verified handles of actor Gajendra Chauhan, BJP leader Kapil Mishra, and religious guru Yogi Devnath.
Several Facebook accounts have shared the same video with similar captions.
The video is also being circulated with the same caption on WhatsApp.
Fact check
The video is from five years ago and had initially surfaced on social media in 2017. The clip can be seen on YouTube by searching with the keywords “Drunk Punjab Police”.