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| - Fact Check: This image of men in police gear and civil clothes is not linked to farmers' stir
A post circulating on social media claims that a group of men in civil dress, donning helmets and other protective gear usually worn by law enforcement agencies are deployed by Delhi Police at farmers' protest. India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim to be false.
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India Today Fact Check
This picture is from the 2019 Jamia violence and the men belong to the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) whose members mostly operate in plain clothes.
Security has been strengthened in sensitive places across the Capital since protesting farmers clashed with police on Republic Day, and with some locals at Singhu border two days later.
On social media, several users have picked on an image of a group of men in civil dress, donning helmets and other protective gear usually worn by law enforcement agencies. Many have sarcastically remarked that Delhi Police is deploying its personnel for the farmers’ protests in jeans and sweatshirts. Others in comments section said they are BJP and RSS workers.
One such claim in Hindi translates to, “The great Delhi Police where people are sent on duty at the farmers’ agitation wearing jeans and sweatshirts.”
The same picture has also been shared with tweets in Punjabi asking which state’s police have jeans as their new uniform.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claims to be misleading. The picture is over a year old and was taken during anti-CAA protests in Delhi. The men belong to the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS), whose members mostly operate in plain clothes while controlling an unruly mob.
The archived versions of the posts can be seen here, here, and here.
AFWA probe
Upon reverse-searching the viral image, we found it in a report by “The Free Press Journal” dated December 17, 2019.
The headline of the article reads, “Cop or RSS volunteer who’s the guy in plain clothes seen during CAA protests in Delhi?”
Several social media handles had also shared the same picture on December 17, 2019, linking it to the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act. Many had then alleged that it was right-wing activists in police gear.
#HinduphobicJamia@PMOIndia @narendramodi
#WeAgainstCAB #IndiaRejectsCAB #CAAAgainstConstitution pic.twitter.com/phui1S1RyI — Kuldeep Bharti (@Kuldeepbharti81) December 17, 2019
This makes it clear that the viral image is more than a year old and not related to the ongoing farmers’ protest.
Who are the men in civil dress?
In 2019, the same picture was shared along with the Facebook profile of one ABVP member “Bharat Sharma”, with the claim that the man in red sweatshirt in the viral image is him.
At that time, AFWA had spoken to MS Randhawa, then DCP (Central), and Delhi Police public relations officer to figure out the identity of the man seen in the picture.
Randhawa had confirmed to AFWA that the men seen with protective gear in the viral image are part of a specialised unit called Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS), whose members mostly operate in plain clothes while controlling an unruly mob.
He added that the man in red sweatshirt is Arvind, a constable posted with AATS, and the group was deployed near New Friends Colony to control the violence that broke out at Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 15, 2019, in connection with the anti-CAA protests.
Hence, it is clear that the viral picture is over a year old and not related to the ongoing farmers’ agitation. The men in the picture are part of Anti-Auto Theft Squad, whose members are mostly deployed in civil dress.
READ | Fact Check: No, 200 policemen in Delhi haven't resigned in support of farmers
READ | Delhi Police prepared with 'anti-sword squad' in case of violence during farmers' protest
WATCH | Farmer unions announce 3-hour nationwide 'chakka jam' on Feb 6
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