A video shared by journalist Piyush Rai on September 29, Wednesday, showed several police officials watching and recording certain female performers dancing during the Baba Lat Bhairav baarat procession in Varanasi.

The video, which has since gone viral across social media platforms, triggered severe backlash from Opposition leaders and social media users, who condemned the conduct of the police personnel. Even Right-wing handles termed the performance as “obscene and vulgar” to a point of “disrespecting religious sentiments.”

As outrage piled up, responding to Rai, the X handle of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kashi, claimed that the video was AI-generated to tarnish police’s image, and warned that a case will be registered in the matter.

“…[The video] is being circulated with the intent to tarnish the image of the police. In the mobile videos the crowd recorded, no police personnel standing behind are visible on any screen. A case will be registered for the offence of disseminating misleading videos, and legal proceedings will be initiated,” read the DCP’s X post. (Archive)

In a separate video statement, Deputy Commissioner Gaurav Banswal stated that legal action would be initiate against anyone who circulates the “misleading video” and that a case had been registered at the Adampur police station. (Archive)

Fact Check

While it is unclear that whether the police are claiming that the entire video of the event is AI-generated, or the portion where the cops are seen watching and recording the performance, Alt News found that one of the dancers present in the viral clip posted several videos of the event on her Instagram page, @queen__juhi_002__.

In at least four videos that she had uploaded, the dancers are seen wearing the same attire as seen in Rai’s X post. These videos all show police personnel in the vicinity of the dancers, watching the performance and some filming it. However, at the time of writing this article, her Instagram page was taken down. Below is a screen recording of a video posted by the dancer herself, where the performers are seen wearing the same attire as in the video posted by Rai.

A closer look shows that police personnel are visible on the stage as well below the stage. Below are the highlighted portions of the phone recordings that clearly show the dancers. One of the keyframes also shows an audience member on a video call.

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The setting and backdrop of the videos posted by the dancer and the one posted by Rai also match. Below are two screenshots comparing a keyframe from the video posted by Rai and keyframes posted by the dancer.

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A video posted by another Instagram user, @aman_bhu_2427, showed a different angle of the same dancers in the same performance. The text on the video states that it was taken at the Lat Bhairav Mandir. The video shows several police personnel gathered around the dancers on stage and some of them are seen recording the performance with their phones.

Another Instagram user named Sushila Seth also posted a video of the dancers amidst several uniformed policemen.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sushila Seth (@sushila.seth.501)

We found another video on Facebook where the structure of the stage can be clearly seen and a red temple can be seen behind it.

To sum up, the above videos posted by the dancers themselves and the attendees prove three things:

  1. The incident did take place during the Baba Lat Bhairav baarat procession. Several social media users posted videos of the same programme captured from different angles.
  2. The uniformed police personnel were standing on the stage as well as below the stage watching the dancers as the performance went on.
  3. More than one cop could be seen recording the performance.

Thus, the Kashi DCP’s claim that the video is AI-generated does not hold up.

False
Claim:
Video of police recording dancers at a religious event in Varanasi is AI-generated

The content is factually incorrect or fabricated.

Read our methodology