AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the police over a viral video showing an officer placing what appeared to be a smartphone on a Muslim man’s back and intimidating slum residents by claiming it could identify “illegal immigrants”, saying, “The same device should be put on the cop’s head to see if his first floor has a cerebrum.”
Owaisi called it a “clear example of hatred & communal bias, as the victim’s name is Muhammad Sadiq of Araria, Bihar.”
“Are you Bangladeshi? The machine shows that you are, doesn’t it?” a police officer is heard saying in a viral video, as the man responds that he is from Araria district in Bihar.
The officer involved is attached to the Ghaziabad Police, and the incident reportedly occurred during what the police described as a “routine area domination exercise.”
Meanwhile, following the video’s circulation on social media, the Ghaziabad Police on Friday ordered an inquiry into the matter.
“An inquiry has been ordered. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of the Indirapuram circle is investigating the matter,” the district police said.
The police maintained that the exercise was not intended to verify nationality, stating that area domination drives are standard security procedures carried out to verify individuals living in temporary settlements.
According to the police, such operations involve intensified foot and vehicle patrols, route marches, and checks in sensitive or high-risk areas to maintain law and order, deter crime, and instill public confidence.
“The Station House Officer of Kaushambi has been given a strict warning that such behavior should not recur in the future; all facts are being investigated, and further action is being taken,” the police said.
The Congress demanded suo motu cognisance by the judiciary, alleging a breakdown of the rule of law.
“We have no expectation from the state police or administration, as such directions come from the top. These incidents have become a daily occurrence in Uttar Pradesh,” said Ajay Rai, adding that the videos made a mockery of governance and violated constitutional principles.
Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale also criticised the incident, calling it a “cutting-edge innovation” and stating that either the so-called device should be discussed in Parliament or the officers involved should be suspended.
The Aam Aadmi Party termed the episode “another feat of Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Thaay-Thaay’ police.”
While AAP workers met the affected family, they said they were residents of Bihar and had been living in the area for nearly a decade. “In our own country, we are being called Bangladeshi,” a family member said.
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