No, Jhargram vendor who sold jhal muri to PM Modi is not an SPG commando

by Prantik Ali

While campaigning in West Bengal’s Jhargram on April 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped at a roadside stall to enjoy some ‘jhal muri’, a popular street-food in several parts of India, made with puffed rice and an assortment of seasonings and condiments. The Prime Minister was seen on camera watching the snack being prepared, paying Rs 10 to the vendor and tasting it.

 

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A post shared by Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)

The very next day, addressing a rally in Birbhum’s Murarai, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged that the episode had been carefully staged in advance, instead of being an impromptu moment as purported by PM Modi.

She went on to claim that the man posing as a jhal muri vendor was in reality a Special Protection Group (SPG) commando. “They arranged for a microphone inside the stall, and got the jha lmuri prepared by an SPG (officer). Does he (PM Modi) go around carrying a ten-rupee note in his pocket? What drama!”, Mamata Banerjee exclaimed, taking a dig at the Prime Minister.

Several social media users made similar claims.

X user Jeetu Bhadrak (@Jeetuburdak) posted an AI-generated photo of the jhal muri vendor dressed in the attire of an SPG personnel. It was accompanied by a caption in Hindi, which, when translated, reads: “The shopkeeper in Bengal, India, where the Prime Minister went to buy and eat Jhal muri during his road show, was actually an SPG jawan deployed for the PM’s security.” (Archive)

There were others who shared the same claim on X. (Archives: 1, 2, 3)

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The claim was also viral on Facebook. See screenshots below:

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Fact Check

First, we performed a keyword search and came across an interview by IANS, where the vendor identified himself as Vikram Shaw. He recounted the conversation he had shared with the Prime Minister, revealing that he originally hailed from Gaya, Bihar, and he had studied till the ninth grade.

To verify claims that the jhalmuri vendor was an SPG officer, an Alt News representative visited the stall on April 22. The shop, Chawan Laal Special Jhal Muri, is located on Raj College Road in Jhargram, near the College More traffic signal. We noticed that the shop’s signboard (photo below) displayed a photograph of the same man seen with Narendra Modi.

At the time of the visit, an elderly man and a woman were running the stall. When asked about the individual seen with Narendra Modi in the viral video, the shopkeeper said he was his son, Vikram. He also said the shop had been there for around a decade.

To further verify this, we made a UPI payment at the stall. The transaction details showed the beneficiary’s name as Vikram Kumar.

Next, we called on the number mentioned in the name board. The man who received the call identified himself as Vikram Shaw. He confirmed that he had interacted with PM Modi on April 19, and dismissed Mamata Banerjee’s claims as being groundless. “I have been managing the shop for more than four years here. I have never been into armed forces or anything like that,” he told Alt News.

Thereafter, we spoke to a neighbouring shopkeeper who runs a photography store named Focus Studio. He told Alt News that he has been in business for 36 years.

“Around 2025, the shops here were renovated. My shop became smaller, and several new shops came up along this stretch,” he said. Referring to the man seen in the viral video with Narendra Modi, he added that he had known Vikram for several years. “Earlier, he used to run his jhalmuri stall on the opposite side of the road. After the renovation, he set up his stall here.”

“He is from Gaya in Bihar,” the shopkeeper further stated.

The jhal muri shop near College More in Jhargram that PM Modi visited. Alt News visited it on April 22

Alt News also spoke to a doctor from Jhargram Government Hospital, who is a frequent customer of Vikram’s shop. “I am a local. And I am attached to the government hospital which is barely 600 metre from the intersection where the shop is located. I often go there to buy jhal muri and other stuff. For as long as I can remember I have seen Vikram and his father in that stall although I am not sure if they are the owners. As a matter of fact, the shop is quite famous here,” he said, requesting anonymity.

To sum up, multiple sources corroborated our finding that the jhal muri vendor whose shop Prime Minister Modi visited, had been running the store for years. The claim that he was an SPG commando in disguise is false and baseless.

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