This viral video of a CRPF soldier being manhandled in Kashmir by local youth is from April 2017

A video is being shared on social media (here, here, and here) showing a group of people allegedly assaulting and mistreating soldiers. The post claims that the video is from before 2014, during the tenure of the UPA government, when Dr Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, alleging that soldiers in India faced such mistreatment at that time. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim: The video shows people assaulting and mistreating soldiers during the UPA government tenure, when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, before 2014.

Fact: The incident did not occur during the UPA government when Dr Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister (before 2014). The viral video is from 9 April 2017, during the NDA government, when Narendra Modi was Prime Minister, showing a CRPF soldier being manhandled by local youth in Kralpora, Chadoora constituency, Budgam district, central Kashmir, while transporting EVMs during polling duty.  Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led to multiple media reports (here, here, and here) from April 2017. According to these reports, on 9 April 2017, a CRPF soldier returning from a polling station with EVMs in Kralpora, Chadoora constituency, Budgam district, central Kashmir, was manhandled and kicked by a group of local youth chanting slogans. Following a complaint by the CRPF, the Jammu and Kashmir Police registered a case.

Ravideep Singh Shahi, then Inspector General of the CRPF, confirmed the video’s authenticity, stating that all facts were collected, the Chadoora police were informed, and legal action would be taken against those responsible (here, here, and here). Discussions with a CRPF spokesperson highlighted the soldier’s restraint in not retaliating despite being armed, to protect the democratic process and avoid civilian casualties. The spokesperson emphasised that this approach aims to prevent escalation, though it is sometimes perceived as a weakness. This confirms that the viral video is from 2017 and not from 2014, as claimed.

To sum up, this viral video of a CRPF soldier being manhandled in Kashmir by local youth is from April 2017, when the NDA was in power.