Fact Check: Viral video of police pushing away cycle rider from VIP convoy is not from Andhra Pradesh

An X user shared the video claiming that the convoy which went past the constable and the man on the bicycle belonged to Andhra Pradesh state government advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy. Referring to the mistreatment the person on the bicycle had to deal with due to the convoy, the user said that the AP state government has the worst governance.

Fact Check

NewsMeter that the convoy in the video belongs to the Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister and the video was recorded in September 2023.

We noticed the watermark of the Hindi newspaper Punjab Kesari in the viral clip, which gave us a hint that it could be from North India. With this clue, we ran a keyword search and came across a video report by Brut India from September 7, 2023, titled ‘A simple bicycle ride in Uttar Pradesh took an unexpected twist as the Deputy CM’s convoy passed by.’

The report said that the man on the bicycle was pushed away from the road by the police in Uttar Pradesh when the convoy of state deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was passing through the area.

We also found a screengrab from the video in a report by The Free Press Journal from September 1, 2023, titled ‘UP News: Traffic Cop On VIP Duty Shoves Man’s Cycle Down Slope As Dy CM’s Convoy Passes By.’

This report also confirmed that the video is from Uttar Pradesh and the man on the cycle was shoved by a traffic police officer while the convoy of UP’s deputy chief minister passed by. We also found video reports by Quint Hindi and Navbharat Times on the viral clip published with the same details in September 2023.

Hence, we conclude that the video is from Uttar Pradesh, not Andhra Pradesh. The claim is false.