Fact Check: Man in civil not a 'RSS volunteer' but a AATS constable
By Satya Priya BN Published on 17 Dec 2019 2:51 PM GMT
Hyderabad: As protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act have spread to the national capital, violence erupted in several parts on the city. Notably, the Delhi police's attack on Jamia Millia Islamia students on Sunday has been creating tremors across the country.
Social media is going wild with related videos and photos trending since the incident. One such video, which went viral, has a few JMI female students confronting Delhi Police to save a fellow male student, as the policemen continued to beat him.
While the rest of the police wore uniforms, one person wore jeans and a red T-shirt during the attack. Various netizens have circulated the claim that the person is not with the police but is an RSS volunteer.
Various posts feature two photographs claiming that this person is Bharat Sharma, an ABVP member, RSS volunteer, and a Delhi University student. Questions have been raised on how the Delhi police can allow a civilian to wear the riot gear and deploy alongside them.
Fact Check:
A senior police official has refuted the rumours and confirmed that the person in the red T-shirt and jeans is a constable with the Anti-Auto Theft Squad or AATS. The officials also claimed that the AATS team usually operated in plain clothes due to the nature of their work, revolving around detecting crimes. According to the officials, the constable is in his early thirties, and his identity can't be revealed due to security concerns.
In reply to the above tweet, another user posted a video showing a man kicking fellow students on a university campus. The post claimed that he is the same Bharat Sharma, who is an ABVP member.
His name is Bharat Sharma. Law student of du. State executive committee member of ABVP. Volunteer of Rss
Clearly seen kicking students for no reason and abusing them. #JamiaMilia #JamiaProtests #DelhiProtest #DelhiBurning #CABProtests pic.twitter.com/AuPRZuk0nm
— Akshay Lakra (@akshaylakra17) December 16, 2019
Reacting to this claim, Delhi police clarified that the person in this video is not the same as the one with police in Jamia University campus. They added that they are in the process of identifying this particular individual.
Other News Media outlets have also reported the same.
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https://www.opindia.com/2019/12/viral-image-rss-member-anti-riot-gear-delhi-police/
Hence, the claim that the plain-clothed officer in the riot gear is a civilian is FALSE. He is a police constable belonging to the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS)
