Delhi Police vehicle used in viral TikTok video? Details here
What's the story
Recently, a video of a TikTok user doing pushups atop, what appeared to be, a Delhi Police vehicle went viral on social media. The video faced criticism and people started questioning how the police allowed for their vehicle to be misused in this way. Delhi Police then took cognizance of the matter and launched an investigation. Here's all that we learned.
Details
ICYMI, here's what the video is all about
In the video, a man is seen driving a Maruti Ertiga with a Delhi Police logo pasted on the car's hood along with a beacon placed on top. The shirtless man then climbs onto the top of the car while it's still moving and does pushups before stepping down as the video ends. The song 'Bholenath' plays in the background of the 15-second video.
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A Twitter user drew Delhi Police's attention to the video
Save driving, anyone? @dtptraffic . @DelhiPolice Official vehicle is used to perform stunt and make #tiktokindia video. pic.twitter.com/H9ZCp6RTJS
— Saurabh Trivedi (@saurabh3vedi) June 26, 2019
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Delhi Police quickly initiated action against the video
Thanks, This complaint has already been forwarded to senior officers for taking necessary action in this regard.
— Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) June 26, 2019
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Another Twitter user brought owner details into question
Is this even a police vehicle? The RC check shows it belongs to an individual. pic.twitter.com/o0NIXA0hC1
— Amit Mitra 🤷🏼♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ (@amit2648) June 26, 2019
Reality
Here's what police investigation found out
A senior police officer confirmed that the vehicle in the video belongs to a private contractor named JP Sharma, PTI reported. The officer added that the incident is old and that the vehicle was hired by the police and the man in the video has been identified as one Dushyant. He's not a police officer and is a friend of the vehicle's driver.
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Show-cause notice issued to private contractor
"The person in the video clip is not a policeman, but a friend of the private driver of the hired vehicle. The private contractor has been issued a show-cause notice for the violation. Necessary legal action will be taken against him," an officer told IANS. Additional spokesperson for Delhi Police, Anil Mittal, told The Indian Express, "We use these vehicles to supplement our fleet."