Old video of police verification drive from UP falsely linked to post-poll action against minorities in West Bengal

The BJP has secured a majority in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Following the results, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal on 9 May 2026.

In this context, a video showing police personnel and CRPF officials questioning a man and a woman about their nationality is going viral on social media with the allegation that Muslims and Christians in West Bengal were being removed from their homes and labelling residents as Bangladeshi immigrants after the BJP’s victory in the Assembly elections.

Let’s check the truth.

Facebook Post| Archive link

Fact check:

We started our investigation with a reverse image search on Google, and the results led us to similar footage uploaded on NDTV’s official YouTube channel on 2 January 2026. The description noted that the Uttar Pradesh Police have come under criticism and ridicule on social media after their personnel were seen performing the impossible in Ghaziabad, near Delhi. 

According to these reports, the footage is from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and it predates the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Moving forward, we found several news reports regarding this incident. As per these reports, the footage is from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where police personnel were conducting a nationality verification drive in the Bhowapur slum area on 23 December 2025. The video drew widespread criticism after an SHO from Kaushambi police station was seen holding a mobile phone against people’s backs as if it were a scanner to identify their nationality. 

This indicates that the viral video dates back to January 2026 from Uttar Pradesh and is unrelated to the recent post-poll violence in West Bengal.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. This video shows a nationality verification drive conducted by police in the Bhowapur slum area of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, in December 2025.