Fact Check: Was a Sub-Inspector murdered in cold blood during Dalit protests as being alleged?

According to images circulating on social media, Sub-Inspector Mahendra Chaudhury, who unfortunately succumbed to his injuries suffered during the Bharat Bandh protests called by Dalits to protest the court verdict on SC/ST Act, was murdered in cold blood by the protesters.


The pictures depict a policeman, who has something of a resemblance with the late sub-inspector, being thrashed by a civilian. However, the images are not from the Bharat Bandh but from a riot at Kanpur in June 2017 over the alleged rape of a girl at a Hospital. In fact, the image was also reported by Times of India.

There indeed was a huge amount of violence during the protests. However, the allegation that the policeman was murdered in cold blood on the basis of images from 2017 appears to be false. There is a compilation of these images on YouTube as well which was published on June 18, 2017.

Multiple media outlets have reported that the Sub-Inspector passed away in unfortunate circumstances while he was being shifted to Ahmedabad from Jodhpur after suffering a heart attack. In the interest of peace and harmony, people should desist from spreading the false news on social media when tensions are already running high.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia