Police Action Post MV Act? No, Video From Student Protest in Alwar

CLAIM

A video which shows police brutally beating up people is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the police is thrashing these people after the implementation of the New Motor Vehicles Act.

The messages is being circulated with a claim, “ट्रैफिक नियम बदलते ही पुलिस का आतंक शुरू अवैध वसूली का विरोध करने पर प्रारंभ हुई निरीह जनता की पिटाई इस वीडियो को अधिक से अधिक शेयर करें जिससे दोषी पुलिसकर्मियों को दंड मिल सके |”

The text loosely translates to — “The police unleashed its terror on people the moment new traffic rules were implemented. The people who protested against the corrupt practices of the police are now being thrashed”

The New Motor Vehicles Act, which came into effect on 1 September, has increased penalties for various traffic violations including jumping a red light, driving without documents among others.

The video is being massively shared on Facebook and WhatsApp. The Quint received a query about it on its WhatsApp number.

TRUE OR FALSE?

While the video hasn’t been doctored, the claim with which it is being circulated is completely false. The video is from Rajasthan’s Alwar and shows the police thrashing protesting students and bystanders after the students questioned the counting of votes during the student union elections.

WHAT DID WE FIND OUT?

We noticed in the video that the number plate of one of the cars read ‘RJ 14’.

Picking up from here we got in touch with a local reporter in Jaipur who told us that the incident happened in Rajasthan’s Alwar on 27 August during the student union elections. He also added that the police thrashed some bystanders and a local journalist who had gone to cover the incident.

We also looked online with the keywords ‘Alwar छत्रसंघ चुनाव’ and came across a news report by Aaj Tak.