(Editor’s note: The story has been republished from The Quint’s archive in light of a viral video circulating with the same claim that a RSS member was found to be impersonating a Delhi cop at the protests.)
CLAIM
As protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act continue, a lot of misinformation has been circulated on social media and on other platforms.
In one such instance, an image has been shared on Twitter with the claim that an RSS member dressed up as a police officer at the CAA protests. In one of the pictures, the said man can be seen with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
The claim was revived in January 2021, amid the farmers’ protest.
The image has been shared on Facebook with the same claim.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The Quint could confirm that the claim with which the image has been shared is false. The man clad in the police uniform is not the same man from RSS who can be seen standing beside Birla.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Let’s look at the man in the video:
A source in Delhi Police told The Quint that the man in the image (a video’s screenshot) is Vinod Narang – SHO Connaught Place. He further said that the man in the other image is not Narang.
While speaking to The Quint, Narang confirmed it is him in the video’s image, but clarified that he does not have any political affiliation, leave alone being an RSS member.
“It’s true that I am the man seen in the video. However, the claim that I am associated with RSS, is completely false. I do not have any political associations.”Vinod Narang, SHO, Connaught Place
According to a fact-check done by Alt News, the man who can be seen alongside Om Birla is BJP MLA Ashok Dogra from Bundi Assembly constituency in Rajasthan.
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