A video showing an argument between a policeman and a biker has gone viral with a claim that it is from Rajasthan and shows the policeman fining the biker for pasting a "religious" sticker on the bike.
Who shared it?: Richa Rajpoot, the Head of Social Media of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Youth Wing in Uttar Pradesh, shared the video and wrote, "Being a Hindu in Rajasthan is wrong for the Congress". Rajpoot went on to accuse the Rajasthan state government of appeasement politics.
The post on X (formerly Twitter) had 16.9K views when writing the story.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)
We also received the video as a query on our WhatsApp tipline.
What is the truth?: The viral video is not from Rajasthan but from Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
How did we find out?:
In the viral video, we noticed the emblem on the policeman's uniform.
Upon conducting a reverse image search, we found that the emblem of UP police matched the one in the viral video.
Below is a comparison between the emblem in the viral video and the UP Police emblem.
We also compared the emblem of Rajasthan police with the UP police and found that they were not the same.
The Quint spoke to Lakhimpur Kheri Post reporter Gopal Giri, who confirmed that the incident took place in Lakhimpur Kheri and identified the bike owner as one Mayank Awasthi.
Rajasthan police dismisses the claim: The Rajasthan Police posted on their official X account and denied that the viral video was from the state.
UP Police's action towards caste/religious stickers:
On directions of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the state police launched a special 10-day drive in August to fine vehicles with religious or caste stickers.
A fine of INR 1000 is issued for a sticker on the vehicle body and INR 5000 for a sticker on the number plate.
The Indian Express reported on 21 August that over 2,300 had been issued by the Gautambudh Nagar and Ghaziabad police.
Conclusion: The viral video showing an argument over a Hindu religious sticker has been falsely shared as a recent incident from Rajasthan.
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