A video of a mock drill held in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra is viral with the false claim that it shows footage of police personnel foiling a bank robbery attempt and arresting the robbers who were trying to escape.
BOOM reached out to Ahmednagar Police who confirmed that the exercise was a mock drill conducted at a bank in Shendi village, Ahmednagar on August 31, 2021.
The dramatic two-minute long video shows policemen nab three armed men trying to escape from inside a building as the police make announcements that they have surrounded the bank and ask them to surrender.
The video is being shared with the caption, "Real time bank robbery got busted in Ahmednagar maharashtra......maharashtra police ki jai ho"
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BOOM received the video on our WhatsApp helpline number (7700906111) inquiring about it.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM did a keyword search with 'Maharashtra police bank robbery mock drill' and found a report published by Maharashtra Times which had a video report with shots from the same viral video.
The Maharashtra Times report dated September 1, 2021, stated that a Gram Suraksha Dal exercise was held in Shendi village, Ahmednagar, where the police conducted a mock drill to test security systems at various places in the village to provide immediate help in case of an emergency.
In the video report below which has the same scenes from the viral video, at the 2.50 minutes timestamp, Ahmednagar Police Inspector Anil Katke states that the exercise was a mock drill to check the security setup in the village in case of a robbery or burglary on calling the police helpline number. PI Katke further states that this was the second mock drill held in the district.
BOOM reached out to MIDC Police Station, Ahmednagar Police, who confirmed that the exercise was a mock drill, stating that it was conducted at a bank in Shendi village, Ahmednagar on August 31, 2021.
We also found other local reports which had the same visuals stating that it was a mock drill.