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| - Fact Check: This Kolkata cop was NOT killed by people protesting against Nupur Sharma
While the video is from June 10, the officer seen in it shot himself dead after firing at multiple persons at Kolkata's Park Circus.
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India Today Fact Check
This video is of a constable who shot and killed himself after opening fire at multiple persons at Park Circus in Kolkata on June 10. A woman was killed and two others were injured.
Protests took place across several Indian cities on June 10 over Nupur Sharma’s controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad. Police resorted to lathi-charge and used teargas to quell protests that turned violent.
A shocking video supposedly from protests in Kolkata has gone viral with disturbing claims. The video showed a seemingly dead police officer drenched in blood, lying on a road with a rifle beside him. The video can be seen here. Warning: this video contains graphic footage and may be upsetting to some people.
An angry crowd was seen surrounding the body. While most voices were unintelligible because of the cacophony, people appeared to shout angrily at another policeman there. Those sharing the video claimed that a mob of protestors killed the policeman and threatened the other cop present at the scene.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found that the claim along with the video is misleading. While the video is from June 10, the officer seen in it shot himself dead after firing at multiple persons at Kolkata’s Park Circus.
AFWA Probe
A Google search revealed photos and videos from the same incident carried in multiple media reports from June 10.
Per the reports, at around 2.30 pm on June 10, Choudup Lepcha, a constable with the fifth battalion of the Kolkata Armed Police, fired about 10-15 rounds at the public. The incident took place at Lower Range Road, near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Park Circus, Kolkata, where the constable was posted.
A woman on a bike taxi was killed in the onslaught. Two others were injured. Subsequently, the policeman died by suicide after shooting himself. We did not find any report that claims the constable was shot by anyone in the public.
Vineet Kumar Goyal, the commissioner of Kolkata Police, told reporters that Lepcha was recruited in 2021 on compassionate grounds since his father died in service in 2017. He was on a ten-day leave and joined back only on June 9. The commissioner also said that the police were investigating why the constable opened fire and then shot himself.
An India Today video report about the incident can be seen below:
It is hence clear that the police officer seen in the video was not killed by protestors but died by suicide — he shot himself after opening fire at people. While we were unable to ascertain if the other policeman was being threatened by the crowd, it is likely that the people were only expressing their anger about the incident.
(With inputs from Sanjana Saxena)
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