Video Of Man Tearing Bike Seat Covers In Uttarakhand Shared With False Communal Spin
BOOM found that the man in the viral video is Dheeraj Aggarrwal, who was caught tearing bike seat covers in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, due to a parking dispute in August 2024.
CLAIM
Video shows Mohammad Junaid tearing the seat covers of vehicles parked on the roadside to boost the business of his bike cover and puncture shop
FACT CHECK
The man in the video is Dheeraj Aggarrwal, who was caught tearing bike seat covers in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, due to a parking dispute in August 2024. Aggarrwal runs a coaching center near the spot where the video was shot.
An old video of a man using a blade to tear seat covers of parked vehicles in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, has surfaced with false communal claims that a Muslim man damaged the vehicles to boost his puncture and seat cover business.
BOOM found that the man in the viral video is Dheeraj Aggarrwal who was caught tearing bike covers due to a parking dispute. We spoke to Aggarwal, who runs a coaching center near the spot where the video was shot; He told BOOM that he vandalised the seats as he was upset with people parking their vehicles there.
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FACT-CHECK: False communal claim added to incident
Taking a hint from the logo of 'Uttrakhand Exclusive' in the viral video, we found the Facebook and Instagram page of this handle. BOOM then reached out to the admin of the page - Gaurav Wasudev who stated that the viral video was uploaded on his page in August 2024, which was later deleted.
Wasudev told BOOM, "The incident in this video is from Dobhal Chowk in Nehru gram area in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The person in the video is a teacher named Dheeraj Aggarrwal."
BOOM then reached out to Dheeraj Aggarrwal who confirmed that he is the man in the viral video. Aggarrwal stated that he runs a coaching center in Dehradun near the spot where the incident took place and the video is from a public parking near his coaching center.
Aggarrwal told BOOM, "This happened on August 5, 2024. Someone made a video of me damaging seats of two-wheelers and circulated it on social media. People would park their vehicles in the parking lot near our coaching center and leave. So, to teach them a lesson I did that. When this matter reached the police on August 6, the police rebuked me for this act but no case was registered," added Aggarrwal. He further added that the video is being shared misidentifying him as one 'Mohammad Junaid' to spread communal tensions.
BOOM reached out to Raipur Police, Dehradun, Uttarakhand who confirmed the incident is from there and also dismissed the communal claims being shared on social media.
Station Officer Pradeep Negi told BOOM, "This is a case from August 2024, the coaching center operator had a problem with people parking their vehicles there. That's why he did this. However, no FIR was registered in this case."
(This story was originally published by boom, and republished by english.varthabharati.in as part of the Shakti Collective)
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
