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Delhi Police says viral video of huge crowd outside Jantar Mantar is old: ‘You're using footage from the July 20 demonstration’
Delhi Police said that the video was old while reacting to a post of the viral video on X.
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A video has surfaced on social media claiming to show a huge crowd outside Jantar Mantar ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) planned protest at Jantar Mantar against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Delhi Police, however, said that the video claiming to show the situation outside the protest site at 7 am is old and was originally captured during the party’s earlier demonstration on July 20.
An X user posted, “It's 7 in the morning. The party has just begun.” Delhi Police replied to the tweet and wrote, “Old video alert!”
It added, “You're using footage from the July 20 demonstration to fabricate fake narratives about today's crowd size. Do not spread engagement-driven misinformation. Rely on verified official updates.”
Restrictions in place in Delhi:
More than 40,000 Delhi Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel have been deployed in Delhi. Additionally, barricades and spike strips have been installed at several locations, sparking social media conversations about excessive restrictions across the city. In response to the chatter, the police issued a statement on social media.
Read the full statement:
“We want to put the security precautions and restrictions put in place in Delhi and around Jantar Mantar in proper perspective. People have a right to protest. At the same time, important establishments and the offices of the constitutional bodies are in New Delhi. People living and working in Delhi should be able to go about their day safely too. Delhi police have a responsibility towards all of these.
We also have to take into account what happened last time in July protests at Jantar Mantar. Permission was taken for a one-day protest at Jantar Mantar, but it continued for a month. More than 200 police personnel were injured. More than 2000 persons having criminal antecedents came to those protests, contributing to the violence. As the situation went out of control, there were clashes, and innocent students were injured too.
Nobody wants to see that happen again. The people who come to a protest, the police personnel on duty and the people passing through the area all need to be safe.
Now, the same group wants to gather at the same place again. Given that experience, permission cannot be given without addressing how safety will be ensured. Already, in the past week, women constables of Delhi Police have been molested and assaulted by those protesting at Jantar Mantar. That is deeply troubling, and it has to be taken seriously.
There is also a practical issue here. Jantar Mantar is a small area which can only accommodate 1,000 people at a time. Delhi is a small city-state, and there are limits to how many people a particular location can safely accommodate. Delhi being capital of the fastest growing economy of the country cannot be brought to halt everytime there are protests. Delhi Police has to look after well-being of citizens and economic interests alongside the interests of those who want to protest.
Balancing these responsibilities requires planning, and that planning starts with organisers seeking permission and sticking to them. Seeking permission to protest is not anti-democratic. Permission is to ensure that Authorities know where people intend to gather and how many are expected so they can arrange for traffic diversions, emergency access and safe crowd movement.”
Why is the CJP protesting again?
The party and its followers are demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
CJP protest update:
The leaders of the party, Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were detained after landing at Delhi Airport ahead of the planned protest.
