Social media was flooded with claims that a girl had been assaulted by alleged Hindu and RSS supporters in the presence of Delhi Police personnel, who supposedly remained silent spectators. The claims were widely circulated by social media influencers, CJP and Congress handles.
The official handle of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) posted, “DEEPLY DISTURBING! BJP-RSS goons beating a young girl in the presence of Delhi Police, with an officer seemingly guiding them to stop the recording. Why is Delhi Police helping goons attack peaceful protestors instead of protecting them? Who gave them this free hand?” Other CJP spokespersons also amplified the allegations, seeking to draw sympathy for the protest held on October 10.
The official Congress handle also shared a similar claim, stating, “BJP-RSS goons are beating up protesters in front of the Delhi Police. Modi-Shah have established a reign of hooliganism across the entire country. The video shows goons knocking a girl to the ground and beating her while the police just watches the spectacle”.
However, another video angle of the same incident presents a different account of what happened.
According to a video shared by Dr Prakash Singh, two to three men travelling in a car were surrounded by a group of CJP protesters. The visuals show members of the crowd allegedly intimidating the occupants, attacking their vehicle and kicking its window panes. Dr Prakash Singh questioned the narrative being circulated online, which alleged that two men, identified as Ravinder and Ramandeep, were tearing a girl’s clothes. He claimed that the protesters began abusing the men, showing middle fingers and attacking their vehicle after noticing a ‘Jai Shree Ram’ sticker on the back of the car.
Other people also claimed that the presence of saffron flags had angered the CJP protesters. However, the incident escalated, with the men allegedly taking matters into their own hands after being provoked by the crowd. The video has also prompted questions about the identity of the individual wearing a black T-shirt, who was described in social media posts as a girl. However, in reality the individual was a boy.
The allegations against Delhi Police are also based on a false claim that the police remained mute spectators while a girl was allegedly assaulted. Congress and CJP handles circulated this claim on social media. However, the video shared by Dr Prakash Singh shows a police officer present at the scene, while the individual described as a girl was identified as a boy.
The claim portraying the incident as an assault on a girl in the presence of an inactive police force is therefore misleading. This is not the first time misleading claims have circulated around the protest. Earlier, claims that Delhi Police had surrounded Bangla Sahib Gurdwara were debunked soon after they emerged. However, the claims continued to circulate on social media.
