An image which shows police resorting to the use of water canons on a group of protesters is being shared by multiple leaders and social media users in the context of the ongoing farmers protest.
However, this picture is from a ‘Kisan Kranti Padyatra’ in 2018 where the police resorted to the use of water canons on protesting farmers at the UP-Delhi border. Although this picture is old, but the police, at the Delhi border, did deploy water cannons and tear gas to stop a group of hundreds of farmers from Punjab and Haryana marching towards the capital.
CLAIM
Political leaders like Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa used the image in context of the recent protests on 26 November.
Indian Youth Congress’ Twitter handle shared the image to condemn the police action on farmers along with Urdu poet and Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi.
Digital media outlet VICE India also shared the image along with journalists Deepika Singh Rajawat and Arfa Khanum.
Boxer Vijender Singh and actress Sargun Mehta also shared the image on Facebook.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search led us to several news reports which had used the image in October 2018.
The Mint’s article dated 2 October 2018, carried the image with the caption, “Police use water cannons to disperse farmers protesting at the Delhi-UP border during a protest march on Tuesday.”
The photo has been credited to news agency PTI.
FirstPost and The Quint had also carried the image in October 2018, credited to PTI.
While the image is old, the police did resort to the use of water cannons on farmers marching towards Delhi on 25 November as part of their ‘Dilli Chalo’ demonstration against the three farm laws passed by the central government.
Amid tight security on Thursday, over two lakh farmers and members of trade unions from Punjab, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana have called for a two-day march.
Visuals of the protest can be seen here.
Evidently, an old image from 2018 was revived amid the social media unrest over the farmers’ ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest.
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