Fact Check: Viral Image showing security beef up at the national capital borders is Misleading
Farmers, mainly from Punjab, accompanied by their counterparts in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, began ‘Dilli Chalo’ march after their talks with the Union government remained inconclusive. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha...
farmers protest
Farmers, mainly from Punjab, accompanied by their counterparts in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, began ‘Dilli Chalo’ march after their talks with the Union government remained inconclusive. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are holding a march to press the Centre to accept their demands, including the enactment of a law to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The legal guarantee of MSP is the prime reason for the farmers' protest. Apart from this, the farmers have also demanded the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, as well as farm loan waiver.
The police officials have blocked roads leading to New Delhi to avoid a repeat of the protests in 2021. Police have barricaded the national highway at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border at Ghaziabad.
Meanwhile, an image showing the National Highway completely barricaded with the officials standing behind the barricades is in circulation on X (Twitter) with the claim that it shows the recent roadblock by the police due to farmers' protests.
When translated, it claims: “If you are in Delhi NCR, stuck in traffic, open your eyes and look around. You will not see farmers blocking roads, you will see police blocking roads. The government wants you to blame the farmers for the inconvenience.”
Fact Check:
The claim is Misleading. The viral image is not recent, it was shot during the farmers' protest that took place in the year 2021.
When we performed a Google reverse image search, we found that the image was published in several reports during the farmer's protest in 2021.
The image was shared by Priyanka Gandhi on her Twitter account on February 6, 2021.
It was also shared on the photo stock website Alamy with the caption “Indian Police in riot gear stand on guard behind barricades at the Ghazipur Border. As farmers' protest against the three farm acts continues at Ghazipur border, Delhi Police sealed the border with barriers, concrete walls, and barbed wire fence to keep off farmers from accessing it for their protests”. According to Alamy, the photo was taken on February 3, 2021.
A report by Outlook.com published on February 5, 2021, shared the viral image. The report states that the administration beefed up the security at the Ghaziapur border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh following the farmer’s chakka jam announcement. As the number of protestors increased at the farmers' protest sites, police put up multi-layer barricades, etc sealing the main entry points to prevent the movement of protestors.
An article published in India Today on February 3, 2021, also shared the viral image.
Therefore, the viral image claiming to show the police barricading Delhi NCR borders on the national highway is not recent, it was taken during the farmer's protest in the year 2021. The claim is Misleading.