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| - Fact Check: No, this is not ABVP man in the garb of Delhi police
The viral claim also has a screenshot of the Facebook profile of "Bharat Sharma" along with the man in civil dress.
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India Today Fact Check
The man in civil clothes and police gear is not ABVP leader. But the man in the video kicking another man is indeed Bharat Sharma.
Social media is flooded with various posts regarding Delhi’s Jamia Nagar protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the subsequent police action on Sunday.
Amid this, there is a lot of buzz around an image of a man in civil dress, donning a helmet and protective gear as usually worn by law enforcement agencies. The man, in jeans and red t-shirt, was caught on camera wielding a stick on protesters, leading to claims on Facebook and Twitter that he is an RSS and ABVP member named Bharat Sharma. While the RSS is considered to the parent organisation of the ruling BJP, the ABVP is its students’ wing.
The viral claim also has a screenshot of the Facebook profile of Bharat Sharma along with the man in civil dress. The Facebook profile says Bharat Sharma is a state executive committee member of ABVP, an RSS volunteer and college president of ABVP.
The viral claim on Twitter can be seen here and here he archived versions are saved here and here.
A similar post on Facebook also has a video clip along with the viral claim. The short video clip shows a bearded youth kicking and abusing another man and getting involved in a scuffle. The archived version can be seen here.
This post claims, ABVP activist Bharat Sharma kicking peaceful protesters and inciting violence in Delhi. Has Delhi Police given him a part-time job? Till the filing of this story, the post has already been shared more than 1,300 times.
India Today Anti Fake News War room (AFWA) finds the real identity of the men seen in these picture and video.
In the Facebook post by Nitin Raut, a bearded man in blue trousers and black jacket is seen kicking another person and getting involved in a fight. The user claims this is ABVP activist Bharat Sharma.
Following the details seen in the screenshot of the Facebook profile, we tried to find Bharat Sharma. We found that Bharat Sharma has deleted his Facebook profile. But we were able to contact him with the help of some of his friends in ABVP. Sharma confessed that the man in the viral video seen kicking another person is indeed himself. He is a student of the Faculty of Law at Delhi University.
According to him, the incident took place at noon on December 16, near the Faculty of social science, when protests against CAA began in Delhi University. As per Sharma, some outsiders along with other fellow students were blocking the entrance of other students to the college. He protested this and got him involved in a fight after the protesters allegedly abused him.
According to Sharma, the viral video is clipped and does not show what preceded before he is seen hitting the other man. We asked for a longer version of the video, which he could not provide until the filing of the story. Sharma admitted he is an active ABVP worker.
But is he also the man in red T-shirt and jeans and protective gear of police in the viral photo? Bharat Sharma categorically denied this and said that neither he is the man in the picture nor he has any idea about it. He also claimed that the face of the man, partially covered in helmet does not resemble his face.
To substantiate his claim, Sharma sent us his recent photo to prove that he was not the person seen in the viral image.
Why did Bharat Sharma delete his Facebook profile?
Bharat Sharma said that after these photos and videos became viral, he started getting threats and abuses on social media. As per Sharma, some people have even used his personal pictures to abuse his family.
This prompted him to deactivate his Facebook profile on Monday night.
Who is the man in jeans and red t-shirt in viral image?
The viral image of the man in civil dress and protective gear has kept social media guessing about the identity of the man behind the helmet. There are other men, who can be seen in the viral picture standing in similar plainclothes and police riot gear. We spoke to a senior police officer of Delhi police to ascertain if Delhi police constables are deputed in plain clothes.
MS Randhawa, DCP (Central) and Delhi Police PRO said that there are few specialised units such as Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS), whose members mostly operate in plainclothes while controlling the unruly mob.
Randhawa confirmed to us that the man seen in the viral image is a Delhi Police constable. Randhawa told us that after this picture became viral, they found about his details. His name is Arvind and he is from the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS). He was deployed near New Friends Colony on Sunday to control Jamia protesters, , the officer added.
Conclusion
Therefore, we can conclude that the man in plainclothes and police gear is not AVBP worker Bharat Sharma. He is Delhi police personnel. However, the man in the video seen kicking someone is indeed Bharat Sharma.
Also read: Fact Check: Old image of Egyptian child kidnapper passed off as Jamia protester
Also read: Fact Check: Eight-year-old photo passed off as police atrocities on Jamia students
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