Mumbai: The Mumbai Police on Thursday ordered an inquiry and reassigned a police driver after a viral video surfaced online depicting him threatening student protesters with false narcotics charges. The video, which was widely shared by the Mumbai Congress on social media platform X, triggered widespread criticism regarding law enforcement conduct during demonstrations held across locations like Shivaji Park, Chembur, and Azad Maidan.
In the recording, the officer is heard warning detained students that he would plant illicit drugs on them, ensuring they face life-imprisonment under strict narcotics laws if they continued participating in demonstrations. Following preliminary fact-checking procedures, senior departmental officials confirmed that the driver involved in the incident was immediately removed from his current posting pending the outcome of the formal inquiry.
The incident occurred during ongoing solidarity demonstrations across Mumbai in support of the Cockroach Janta Party-led student movement protesting competitive examination irregularities in New Delhi. While political delegations met with senior police administration to raise concerns over mass detentions and heavy-handed tactics, police officials stated that the internal probe will determine the complete authenticity of the video and decide necessary disciplinary action.