Fact Check: No, Bangalore Police Didn't Show Fist Or Threaten To Beat Ramachandra Guha

A video of prominent historian and author Ramchandra Guha surfaced just after he was being taken away by the police for not complying with Section 144. Allegations have come that one of the policemen made tried punching Guha before taking him away.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor even shared the tweet along with a few others.

Is this cop threatening to hit ⁦@Ram_Guha⁩ with his fist? It’s bad enough to arrest a senior historian exercising his democratic right to protest. But to do so with the threat of force is disgraceful & the cop deserves stern disciplinary action. Does the Home Minister care? pic.twitter.com/ogjD47pgsd

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 19, 2019

The great historian @Ram_Guha Shame on u policeman. Tomorrow tell your kids what u did. They will tell how disgusting u r to raise ur fist against such man. #bangaloreprotest pic.twitter.com/NDccId5y9a

— Hindu is not Hinduttva!! (@DaCheap) December 19, 2019

Everyone is equal in India irrespective of caste, gender, sex, religion, rich or poor. He is just showing the fist to control him. Everyone is equal for police if its you ,Ram Guha or any person protesting violently . He can also protest peacefully. Don't spread lies sir. https://t.co/f1t1e8vT8M

— _Harsh_Malik (@MrHarsh09155515) December 19, 2019

Seriously ? Karnataka Police ?

You need to fist a Historian like this?
An unarmed elderly person is threat to you? pic.twitter.com/uhtDiexssu

— Sheldon कूपर (@Sheldon84888351) December 19, 2019

ये सत्ता की बर्बरता की शर्मनाक,दहला देने वाली विड़ियो है।सूनी सड़क पर बस एक प्लेकार्ड लेकर अकेले निकले महान इतिहासकार @Ram_Guha को पुलिस घसीटते हुए ले गई।इसलिए ये मत कहिए कि प्रतिरोध शांतिपूर्ण हो ।उसे कोई विरोध नहीं चाहिए।और पढ़े लिखों का तो एकदम नहीं। pic.twitter.com/A5f1onYRFF

— Yatendra Kaushik (@yatendrakaush) December 19, 2019

India’s most respected voice @Ram_Guha dragged & threatened with a fist by Bengaluru Police for speaking to d Press about CAA-NRC, In France when Sartre was arrested during a protest, President CharlesDeGaulle said – You don't arrest Voltaire-Do we have such Statesmen in India ? pic.twitter.com/j3PoEUna7g

— Utsav Bains (@utsavbains) December 19, 2019

Another allegation has come from another Twitter user where a policeman is said to say ‘Hodi’ (which means to beat in Kannada) while taking Guha away.

In the video police are shouting Hodi Hodi in Kannada(beat,beat)Has he been beaten and man handled? Great shame for my state and my country.

— gangadhar (@hgangadhar1) December 19, 2019

Exact moment @Ram_Guha was arrested.

Cops can be heard saying “hodi, hodi” in Kannada. I’m told that means “beat, beat”. Hope he wasn’t actually beaten up.

Stay strong, Bangalore. #BangaloreAgainstCAB https://t.co/dc6REJM1NX

— Zain Khan (@zainthezen) December 19, 2019

Fact Check

The policeman did not attempt to punch Guha while taking him away. AltNews has already verified this claim.

On checking the screenshots and slowing the video down, we got to know that the policeman did not make a fist at Guha. We analysed (magnified) the screenshot where it can be seen that the right shirt pocket flap of his uniform was lifted, and his fingers were around its edge. In the screenshot shared, there is a small piece of cloth jutting out which is the pocket flap.

Since most of the videos shared weren’t of good quality, The Logical Indian accessed a video story by The Quint where the same clip was there. The video, uploaded on YouTube had much better picture quality. On analysing the video with better image quality and on slowing it down, it was clearly shown that the policeman had his fingers around the pocket flap, which indicates that he was either adjusting it or keeping something inside.

You can also see the video by improving the video quality to 360p, 720p or 1080p and slow the speed down to 0.25 to confirm the fact.

On the allegation put that another policeman said ‘Hodi’, the voice is not clear. He could have also said ‘Odi’ (which means ‘run’ in Kannada.) They then tell Guha, ‘Banni’ (A respectful term in Kannada which means to come.) This confirms that the policemen had no intention of beating Guha up.

Conclusion

The claims given in the video that the policemen dealing with Guha made a fist or threatened to beat him up are misleading and false.

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Also Read: Jamia Protest: Delhi Police To File Cases Against People Who Shared Fake News On Social Media