New Delhi: A video of a group of policemen chanting “Jayant Chaudhary zindabad” went viral on social media this past weekend, but several users mis-stated the location where the incident took place.
Uploaded to social media Friday, the video shows police officers chanting in support of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Retired IAS officer Surya Pratap Singh was among the more prominent users who shared the video. “The mood of western UP is changing. Even policemen in Meerut are chanting ‘Jayant Chaudhary zindabad, Vande Mataram’. Now they will be suspended, but they want freedom from the BJP,” Singh tweeted in Hindi.
पश्चिमी यूपी का मूड बदल रहा है।मेरठ में पुलिस वाले भी बोले #जयंत_चौधरी जिंदाबाद,बंदे मातरम।
अब निलंबन तो होगा ही लेकिन BJP से मुक्ति चाहते हैं। pic.twitter.com/eOJxDdxfte
— Surya Pratap Singh IAS Rtd. (@suryapsingh_IAS) January 28, 2022
Since Friday, Singh’s post has been retweeted nearly 4,000 times and received nearly 14,000 likes.
Fact check
While the video is authentic and six policemen were suspended for the chanting, the incident took place in Rampur, 160 km from Meerut.
Meerut Police issued a clarification confirming media reports that the incident had occurred in Rampur, and responded to Singh.
— MEERUT POLICE (@meerutpolice) January 28, 2022
However, not only is Singh yet to acknowledge the error, the video has since been re-shared by others with the same inaccurate information.
इतिहास मे पहली बार पुलिस वाले खुश
पश्चिमी यूपी का मूड बदल रहा है।मेरठ में पुलिस वाले भी बोले #जयंत_चौधरी जिंदाबाद,बंदे मातरम।अब निलंबन तो होगा ही लेकिन BJP से मुक्ति चाहते हैं। pic.twitter.com/nHJoXwPcet
— A Ahmed (@_AAhmed004) January 28, 2022
हां तो भक्तों नई लहर आ गई है पश्चिमी यूपी का मूड बदल रहा है।मेरठ में पुलिस वाले भी बोले #जयंत_चौधरी जिंदाबाद,बंदे मातरम।
अब निलंबन तो होगा ही लेकिन BJP से मुक्ति चाहते हैं।#UPElections2022 #UPElection pic.twitter.com/EHtzkzzauc
— Zubin shaikh (@zubin0007) January 28, 2022
A Facebook page named ‘Muhammed Raza Graphy’ re-uploaded the video and Singh’s caption verbatim Saturday, and received nearly 4,000 views.
Others who uploaded the video to Facebook and stated that the incident had taken place in Meerut include a Trinamool Congress worker and a member of the Bhagidari Party.
(In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)
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