Amidst the ongoing national agitations and the recent Supreme Court stay on the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) new equity regulations, a video showing police lathi-charging protesters on a street in Kolkata is being widely circulated. The footage is being shared with the claim that it depicts the current face-off between the administration and those protesting the "UGC decision."
BOOM found that the claim is false. The viral video is from December 2025 and shows a rally organised by the Hindu Jagran Manch in Kolkata to condemn attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, and has no connection to the UGC row.
The Claim
The video is being shared with the caption: "Things became stressful during the demonstration against the UGC decision. Video can be seen that police lathi charge to control the crowd. Atmosphere of chaos became on the spot. This video shows the situation of the day the protests and administration came face to face." (link)
What We Found
Our fact-check reveals that the footage is from a protest held in Kolkata late last year regarding the lynching of a person in Bangladesh.
1. Video Dates Back to December 2025: We performed a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral clip, which led us to an extended version of the footage shared by several news outlets (here, here and here) and social media handles in December 2025. The reports identified the visuals as a demonstration held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata.
2. Protest Over Attacks on Minorities in Bangladesh: According to mainstream media reports dated 23 December 2025, the Hindu Jagran Manch organised a protest march to condemn the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh and the ongoing attacks on minorities in the neighbouring country.
The reports state that the situation turned chaotic when the police intervened to disperse the crowd near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. The footage of the subsequent lathi charge from this specific event is what is now being misidentified as an anti-UGC protest.
3. The Current UGC Context: The UGC notified the "Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations 2026" on 13 January 2026. While the rules have triggered genuine protests across the country, particularly from the general category, the legal landscape shifted on 29 January 2026.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the implementation of the 2026 regulations while hearing petitions challenging their constitutionality. The court has directed that the 2012 UGC regulations will continue to operate until the next hearing on 19 March 2026. Although the agitation is current, the viral video from Kolkata is unrelated to these developments.
