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| - A photograph showing a side-by-side comparison of two defence personnel has gone viral with a claim that it shows the upgradation of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) uniform from 2012 to 2022.
However, we found that the claim is misleading as the uniforms shown in the comparison belonged to two different units of the CRPF.
While the one of the left was a CRPF jawan dressed in regular khaki uniform, the one of the right was an officer belonging to the Valley Quick Action Team (QAT), an elite special operations unit, which became operational in 2016.
CLAIM
Among those who shared the claim was Ghazipur MLC Vishal Singh Chanchal. He wrote, "बस इतना बदला हिंदुस्तान".
(Translation: This is how much India has changed.)
Some other social media users shared the image with hashtags like "#ModiHaiTohMumkinHai", crediting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government for the upgradation of the uniform.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The comparison between the two photos is misleading as one photo is of a CRPF jawan, while the other is that of a Valley QAT commando, an elite special operations unit of the CRPF.
IMAGE 1
Upon conducting a reverse image search on Google, we found the first image on a stock photo website called Alamy.
The image, posted in 2012, was captioned, "Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) member questioning a Kashmiri Muslim woman during a curfew in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir."
The person was seen wearing the khaki uniform of the CRPF.
IMAGE 2
We found the second image posted on Getty Images posted in January 2021 and was captioned, "CRPF Commando on high alert ahead of Republic Day celebration at Rashtriya Rangshala Camp."
On zooming in, we noticed the words "Valley QAT" written on an insignia on one of the sleeves of the uniform. The word "commando" was also written on both the sleeves.
We conducted a keyword search for "Valley QAT" and the results showed that it is an elite unit of the CRPF which operates in Jammu and Kashmir.
We reached out to the CRPF for a clarification and a senior officer, familiar with the unit, told us that the uniform and tactical gear that the person was wearing was indeed a part of the Valley QAT unit.
The senior officer informed The Quint, on the conditions of anonymity, that the Valley QAT, which operates mainly in Srinagar, became operational in 2016.
"They have been provided with all the equipment and gadgets required for operations in the area," the officer said.
The officer also added that they were aware of the viral image and had seen the comparison before.
"The first image is an old one where the officer is wearing the khaki uniform," the officer said while adding that the personnel wear uniforms as per the operations they perform and the units they belong to.
We also checked the latest passing out parade (POP) of the CRPF that was held on 23 December 2021 and found that the khaki uniform was still being used by the CRPF personnel.
Evidently, the photographs of two separate units of CRPF were shared as a comparison with a misleading claim stating that it showed the evolution of the uniforms from 2012-2022.
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