Fact Check: Video showing CRPF soldiers talking about their working conditions is an old one

Indian government swiftly took a series of retaliatory steps, like closing cross cross-border crossing, suspending a critical water sharing treaty, and expelling diplomats. Three days after the Pahalgam terror attack, the Pakistan Army reportedly fired from multiple posts along the Line of Control (LoC) during the night. The Indian Army has retaliated to Pakistan's unprovoked action. There were no casualties reported on the Indian side.

Both India and Pakistan remain on high alert. Islamabad has issued a no-fly zone over the Arabian Sea. In a separate incident, a gunfight broke out between terrorists and security forces in Bandipora district, Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday. A terrorist on the run was reportedly injured in the firefight, while two security officers of a senior police official have also been injured. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation after receiving intelligence about terrorists hiding in the Bazipora forest area. The operation escalated into a gunfight when the terrorists opened fire.

Amidst this situation, a video showing Indian soldiers allegedly complaining about how their senior officers are playing with their lives by sending them out in a non-bulletproof vehicle. This video is in circulation with the caption claiming that the true protectors of the country are fighting in pathetic conditions where they do not even have a bulletproof vehicle to travel in. The social media users shared the video with caption in Hindi “पुलवामा हमला एक रहस्य है, जिसका सच सामने आया तो देश हिल जाएगा। @crpfindia के जवानों की ये वीडियो सिस्टम की पोल खोलती है। प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी, क्या देश के सच्चे रक्षक यूँ ही सिस्टम से लड़ते रहेंगे? कृपया देखें और जवाब दें – देश देख रहा है। #Pahalgam #Pulwama”. When translated it claims “The Pulwama attack is a mystery, if the truth comes out, the country will be shaken. This video of the soldiers of @crpfindia exposes the system. Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, will the true protectors of the country keep fighting the system like this? Please watch and respond – the nation is watching. #Pahalgam #Pulwama”

Here is the archive link of the claim.

Fact Check:

The claim is Misleading. The video is an old one from 2020.

When we extracted the keyframes from the video and checked them using Google reverse image search, we found posts shared by social media users in October 2020.

A facebook user shared the same video on October 11, 2020 with the caption “मोदीजी आप की 56 इंच की छाती है तो आप सरहद पर बिना बुलेट प्रूफ गाड़ी / जैकेट में जाइए और हमारे सैनिकों को आपके 8500 करोड़ वाले हवाई जहाज जैसी सुरक्षा दीजिए।“. When translated, the caption states “Modiji, you have a 56 inch chest so go to the border without a bullet proof vehicle/jacket and give our soldiers the same security as your Rs. 8500 crore airplane.”

Leader of the opposition, Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi shared the same video on October 10, 2020.

An article published by ABPLive, in the viral video, a soldier, sitting inside a truck, can be heard alleging that the Officer Commanding (OC) along with five other officers of his rank, travel in bulletproof vehicles while 10 more soldiers can be adjusted in his vehicle. Frustrated with the arrangements and facilities given to soldiers like him, the officer hits at the truck and says even a stone or pebble can damage such vehicles. Later in the video, another soldier who was having a conversation on his phone turned the camera towards himself and said that the arrangement for soldiers like him is pathetic. He can be heard saying that OCs and other commanders travel in bulletproof vehicles and ask the company to travel in non-bulletproof vehicles.

Here are other news articles discussing the same video.

Hence, the video showing Indian soldiers talking about their work conditions, and having a non-bulletproof van, while going out to fight with terrorists, is not a recent one. It is from the year 2020. The claim is Misleading.