A video clip of a man dressed in a khaki police uniform extolling the greatness of Hindutva has gone viral on social media with a false caption portraying him as an IPS officer. BOOM found that the man is not a police personnel but endodontist Prashant Tripathi based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Tripathi has also acted in Hindi television serials.
The 70-second-long video shows the man speaking animatedly to the camera. A Hindi caption with the clip reads 'Believe in Hindutva. Take pride in Hindutva. Hindutva is not a religion, Hindutva is a scientific way of life. An IPS officer's enthusiastic message to the country. Praise be on India, Vandematram. Now some people will start crying foul.'
(Hindi: हिन्दूत्व पे विश्वास रखिए,हिन्दूत्व पर गौरव करिए | हिन्दूत्व पंथ मजहब नही,हिन्दूत्व जीवन जीने का है वैज्ञानिक तरीका | एक IPS अफसर का देश के नाम जोशिला संदेश | भारतमाता की जय,वंदेमातरम | अब कुछ लोग छाती पिटते मिलेंगे,तय है)
In the video, the man dressed in khaki uniform can be heard saying 'Vandematram. When we said namastey, they laughed. They laughed when we performed yoga. When we worshiped our flora and fauna, even then they laughed. Even when we respected out elders, they laughed. Even washing our hands and feet before eating made them laugh. Our vegetarian diet got their laughs. When we cremated our dead ones, they made fun of us. But, it's surprising that now no one's laughing. The 260 countries across the world have taken up namastey today. And this namastey makes us feel the strength of this country. We are Hindutva. Take pride in Hindutva. Trust Hindutva. Hindutva is a way of life based on science. You and I are Hindutva and we will keep the foundation of this country. With the slogan of Vandeymatram and bharat mata ki jai, we will take this country and the world forward. Corona will go one day, don't worry, believe in Hindutva, the lost glory of this country will come back. Bharat mata ki jai, Vandeymatram, jai hind. Thank you.'
Watch the video below and access its archived version here.
The clip comes in the backdrop of Coronavirus outbreak when fear of getting infected has led to many people avoiding bodily contact, in the way of handshakes and hugs, while greeting each other.
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Fact Check
BOOM traced the viral video clip to the Facebook profile of Prashant Tripathi who had shared a celebratory post on March 20 regarding the same video. Tripathi's profile mentions him as an endodontist and entrepreneur from Bhopal, MP.
The original video posted on his Facebook profile on March 18 had garnered a million views.
BOOM contacted Tripathi on phone to get more details on the video. Tripathi told us that the video was posted by him to create awareness on Coronavirus as well as Hindutva in the backdrop of the pandemic.
Also read What Are The Stages Of A Pandemic? How Did COVID-19 Become One?
Further, Tripathi told us that he has played the role of a cop in some episodes of Hindi-language crime show Saavdhan India. BOOM also found other videos of Tripathi uploaded on YouTube and his Facebook page. He has a YouTube channel by the name Prash Tripathi.
While its clear that Tripathi is not a police official, several comments on the video show that people believe him to be one.
When BOOM asked Tripathi why did he choose to record the video in a police uniform, he told us it was shot on the set of a serial.