The Delhi Police on Tuesday denied the claim that a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was dressed as police personnel at the time of violence in Jamia Millia Islamia here.
As violence erupted in Jamia on Sunday following the protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act, social media was flooded with claims and counterclaims, regarding the man who was not in police uniform.
On Twitter and Facebook, the people claimed that a member of the ABVP was dressed as police personnel at the time of the Jamia incident.
A Facebook profile of ABVP's Bharat Sharma showed a man dressed in civilian clothes with a helmet on his head, lathi in his hand, and bulletproof jacket.
Speaking to , DCP, South-East Delhi, Chinmoy Biswal said that a picture, which is making rounds on social media projecting a cop as a member of a student orgsation, is not correct.
"Police carried out its duty to control a violent mob and maintain peace. However, attempts were being made to present a false picture. False propaganda machinery is being run. A picture is making rounds on social media where a police personnel is being projected as a member of a student orgsation. It is a lie," added Biswal.
"The man in those pictures is police personnel and was present for 'bandobast' there (Jamia). Police arrangement is not only uninformed. Some special plain cloth 'bandobast' is also deployed. They are deployed to identify miscreants in a crowd and arrest them," he said.
Speaking about the anti-citizenship law protest that turned violent in East Delhi's Seelampur area forcing police to use tear gas shells to disperse the protestors, he said: "Police's work is to maintain peace."
"We negotiate during peaceful protests but when a protest turns violent and protestors take the law into their hands by throwing stones, halting traffic movement and set police vehicles and public transport on fire, then we have to act accordingly," said Biswal.
Police personnel Arvind Kumar, who was projected as a member of the student orgsation, said: "I was wearing the civil uniform during the incident. I got to know about the viral picture on social media this morning. We were standing near the Surya Hotel when some person clicked the picture."
Several students were left injured after a protest against the new citizenship law turned violent in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia area.
The university administration had claimed that although no student lost his life, close to 200 people including students, staff and security personnel were injured in the police action.
( With inputs from ANI )