Is this a recent video of EVMs found inside a shop in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh? Know the truth.

A video has surfaced from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, which is currently going viral on social media. In this video, some people are seen taking the EVMs from a shop. It is being claimed with the video that recently 300 EVM machines have been seized from a local shop in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh. 

However, Fact Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. This video is from 2019 during the Lok Sabha elections when the VVPAT was being shifted in the presence of representatives of various political parties.

Sharing the video, a social media user wrote, “More than 300 EVMs were caught inside a shop in Chandauli.”

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Fact Check- 

A Google Reverse Image Search on a keyframe led us to the same video posted by another user on Facebook in 2019. The user wrote, “Murder of Democracy! More than 300 EVM caught by the locals stored inside a shop. Location: Chandauli, UP”

Archive

We found the same video tweeted by a user on 29 January 2024. The user wrote, “Local people caught more than 300 EVMs from a shop in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh.” Replying to this tweet, the DM of Chandauli district tweeted, “The investigation is over. This video is from 2019 during the Lok Sabha elections. In this video VVPAT were being transferred under the supervision of representatives of various political parties. There was no illegal activity going on.”

Fact Crescendo contacted Chandauli Police Station to get clarification. The media officer at the police station clarified to us that the viral video is old. The claim of seizing 300 EVMs from the shop is fake. Even in 2019, this video was shared with false claims. This machine was not confiscated from any shop, rather the EVM machines were shifted in the presence of representatives of political parties. Apart from this, he said that a case has been registered against the account which made the fake news viral.

Conclusion: 

Fact Crescendo found the claim to be misleading. Chandauli Police confirmed that this video is from 2019 during the Lok Sabha elections when the VVPATs were being shifted in the presence of representatives of various political parties.