Video shows cop firing at protesters; busts UP DGP’s claim

A video posted on Twitter on Sunday (December 22) suggests that the police opened fire on the protesters in Kanpur, UP.

The 90-second, now-viral video shows a policeman, wearing protective gear, firing at the crowd. This appears to contradict the claims of Uttar Pradesh DGP O.P. Singh who said not even a single bullet was fired and that the cops did not open fire at the crowd.

The video shows the police officer with a gun taking aim at the crowd and opening fire. There are photographers following the officer and in the background, someone is heard saying, “Maaro saalon ko (Kill them).”

WATCH: A video that nails the claims of UP Police that it never fired a single bullet! The video is of yesterday from Kanpur. pic.twitter.com/O4RazguIM2

— Prashant Kumar (@scribe_prashant) December 22, 2019

The video comes after the UP police claimed that all the deaths caused were due to cross firing and that autopsy reports would confirm this. The police also asserted in a tweet that only the protesters were using firearms and added that 57 policemen suffered bullet injuries.

#CAAProtest के दौरान हुई हिंसा में शामिल 705 लोगो को गिरफ्तार व 4500 लोगों को निजी मुचलके पर पाबन्द किया गया हैl अभी तक कुल 263 पुलिसकर्मी घायल हुये है जिनमे से 57 पुलिसकर्मी को बुलेट इंजरी आयी हैl हिंसाग्रस्त क्षेत्रों से 405 खोखा कारतूस बरामद हुए है:
IG L&O #UPPolice pic.twitter.com/rsk7L045xf

— UP POLICE (@Uppolice) December 21, 2019

“Over 400 empty cartridges have been recovered across UP. It proves that protesters were firing with country-made weapons and that those who died in their fire were either innocent bystanders or part of the mob themselves,” Inspector-General of Police (law and order) Praveen Kumar told the media.

Also read: Curious case of CAA violence victims: Dead listed as accused

There have been widespread protests across UP against the Citizenship Amendment Act in which 16 people, including an eight-year-old, succumbed to injuries. Senior police officers told the media that out of the 16, 14 died due to bullet injuries.