Mumbai: Youngsters fake gun fight, cops make their video

After the police found that the youngsters had used only toy guns while making the video which was uploaded on a video sharing platform, the police rounded up the youngsters and made a video of them apologising. Activist said it was gross violation of the right to dignity of the youths.

Five youngsters were approached by Navghar police after their video, enacting a fight and killings where they used a pistol which looked real, reached the senior police inspector and the police initiated a probe to ascertain if the pistol was real.

Police initiated a probe to ascertain if the pistol seen in the video of the gun fight was real. (HT FILE)

After the police found that the youngsters had used only toy guns while making the video which was uploaded on a video sharing platform, the police rounded up the youngsters and made a video of them apologising for the same in a bid to warn and deter other youngsters from indulging in such acts. Police officers also called their parents and counselled the youngsters to not use weapon or commit such acts which could lead to trouble in the future.

All five youngsters are residents of Mulund and made the video at the newly constructed road connecting Tata Colony to Kelkar College in Mulund (East). According to police, the video shot using a mobile phone showed six to seven youngsters standing around when one of them slaps another. It then showed four youths fleeing while another enters the frame carrying a pistol which he hands over to his victim friend who shoots the assailants.

After a local resident sent the video to the police on July 30, a search was undertaken in the area. “Police personnel were alerted and we inquired in the vicinity and got few details. Meanwhile a team also stood where the video was made hoping that the boys would come again to make another video,” said sub-inspector Mahesh Lamkhade, Navghar police station.

“When they came again on Saturday, a police team nabbed them at 4pm and brought them to the police station. Initially, they avoided giving us their addresses or parents’ contact numbers. When they finally relented, the parents were called,” added Lamkhade.

The youngsters, in their statement, said the video was recorded for entertainment purposes and they were not aware that it could impact other people or the society. They were then counselled as some of them were minors and were released after warning.

When asked about the video that they police made of the youths apologising, inspector Sanjay Londe said the video was not released on any social media platforms but was meant to be a record of their inquiry as well as a means to warn the youngsters from indulging in such acts.

However, advocate and activist Abha Singh said, “It is a gross violation of the right to dignity of the youngsters. The police cannot use their authority to insult or demean others by making them do sit ups holding their ears and recording their apology. Apart from that, as some of the youngsters are minors, they should not have faced uniformed policemen at all. Action should be initiated against the police personnel who are responsible for making the video even if it meant for their record.”