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| - Fact Check: The complete truth behind the photo that embarrassed UP Police
A picture of a man being dragged by a group of people in the presence of UP Police has gone viral, bringing in shame for the department. But, here's the truth behind the photo.
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India Today Fact Check
The Inspector claimed that this picture was clicked just after they rescued the injured man. The police took the help of the locals to carry the man up to the van. Qasim had a severe injury to the back of his head, so they covered his wound with a cloth and to avoid further bleeding, they kept him in a face-down position.
A picture is doing rounds on social media. The scene looks shocking and has raised serious questions about the image of the Uttar Pradesh Police.
People on social media put out their furious words and called the act in the photo 'shameful'.
The picture shows a critically injured man being carried and dragged by some villagers and three policemen. The villagers are holding him by limbs, and his chest is towards the ground, his torso is almost touching the road and his face is hanging low.
All the three policemen looked nonchalant. One is busy on his mobile, the second one is walking casually, and the third one is trying to stop someone from taking pictures.
The fact that the injured man was a Muslim in the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh gave enough fodder for the political opponents to target Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The narrative was woven around the 'fact' that a Muslim was 'dragged' by the violent mob while the police remained a mute spectator.
IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt commented that it should make heads hang in shame.
The controversial picture refers to an incident of alleged 'lynching' of two persons in the Pilakhua area of Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, on June 18.
In this widely reported incident, one Qasim (45) died and another 65-year-old Sameyddin was critically injured.
So was the police passively supporting the mob? We decided to dig deeper to find out the truth.
We found that the picture is not morphed, and it is indeed related to the same incident.
Our local correspondent identified the three policemen present in the picture and the injured man as Qasim.
The policeman in front is constable Ashok. On his right -- the one who is looking into his mobile -- is Inspector Ashwani Kumar Khari and on Constable Ashok's left is Constable Kanhaiya.
We asked inspector Ashwani Kumar Khari why the injured man was being handled like that. The Inspector claimed that this picture was clicked just after they rescued the injured man who was lying in the field.
As the police van was at some distance on the road, they took the help of the locals to carry the man up to the van. But why was he being "dragged"?
Inspector Khari said that Qasim had a severe injury to the back of his head, so they covered his wound with a cloth and to avoid further bleeding, they kept him in a face-down position.
He claimed that they had rushed to the hospital to save him, but he succumbed to his injuries. We spoke to the other two policemen in the picture too. They told us the same story.
We spoke to Sankalp Sharma, SP of Hapur Police, regarding the picture.
He rubbished the allegations that Qasim was dragged by the mob in the presence of policemen but admitted that it was indeed insensitive to carry a critically injured person in this fashion. He insisted, "It would be completely unfair to question the intentions of our policemen."
The SP claimed that they might have done this because there was no ambulance available nearby.
To verify the claims of the policemen and their officers, we tried to source more pictures and videos of the incident to establish the sequence of the events.
With the help of the locals and the victim's family, we could find some visuals that have not come into the public domain so far.
Have a look at this picture in which policemen can be seen putting a man on the back seat of the police vehicle. Some of the people present in the viral photo can also be seen here in the same clothes, establishing that it was the same place.
Looking closely at the picture, one can see that he is being shifted into the van.
This substantiates the version of the policemen that he was bleeding profusely from the back of his head; he was kept in this position to avoid further bleeding.
We also managed to get one video that captured the happenings at the spot just after the police arrived. These are the unseen visuals preceding the moment captured in the viral photo.
It can be seen clearly that the villagers are agitated but the policemen are trying their best to calm them down.
It was immediately after this that Qasim was found lying injured and was carried away to the hospital. We could also verify from the hospital- GS Medical College in Pilakua that Qasim was indeed taken to that hospital.
But actions speak louder than words.
By the evening of June 21, the viral picture became a cause of major embarrassment for Uttar Pradesh Police.
Reports also surfaced that the policemen diluted the FIR by registering the mob lynching case as a mere fight after a motorcycle accident.
Facing flak from all the quarters, the three policemen were transferred to Police Lines and an enquiry was ordered. The DGP also issued a public apology for the incident through Twitter.
It remains to be seen what more action will follow against these policemen after the UP Police completes its enquiry regarding dilution of the charges in the FIR.
WATCH NOW: As Hapur lynching video goes viral, UP police says sorry
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