Clipped video of former Uttar Pradesh Police chief shared to claim he 'praised Akhilesh Yadav'

What is the claim?

A video circulating on social media allegedly depicts the former Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh, Devendra Singh Chauhan, praising former state Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

In the viral clip, Chauhan is heard saying, "For the first time, I have seen a chief minister who doesn't interfere in the police's day-to-day work: whom to arrest, whom to lock up..." The video includes an image of Yadav presenting a medal to a police officer.

One user on X (formerly Twitter) shared the video, writing, "Respected Akhilesh Yadavji has been the best Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh." Archived versions of similar posts can be found here and here. 

Screenshots of the viral social media posts. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this claim is false. The full video reveals that Chauhan was actually praising the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, not Yadav. The viral video has been edited to remove this crucial context.

How did we find the truth?

A keyword search on YouTube led us to an extended version of the video, published on the News18 India YouTube channel (archived here) on March 26, 2023. The video is titled "Lucknow Adhiveshan: UP DGP DS Chauhan told how much does CM Yogi interfere with the UP Police?"

Upon viewing the full video, we discovered that Chauhan was praising Adityanath at the Lucknow Adhiveshan 2023, an event organized by News18. Chauhan was describing how CM Yogi manages the police department. The viral clip was extracted from the 0:02 to 0:15 time frame of the original 3:41-minute-long video.

Chauhan's complete interview at the event was streamed live on the News18 UP Uttarakhand YouTube channel (archived here) on March 26, 2023. A review of the entire interview confirmed that Chauhan did not praise Yadav at any point during the conversation.

Additionally, the Uttar Pradesh Police's fact-checking unit clarified on X that the claim is false. Their statement (archived here) read, "The statement made by retired Director General of Police Shri D.S. Chauhan on 26.03.2023 in the context of Honorable Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath is being misleadingly said to be related to former Chief Minister Shri Akhilesh Yadav.

DS Chauhan retired as the DGP of Uttar Pradesh on March 31, 2023. Prashant Kumar currently serves as the state's DGP.

The verdict

A video of the former DGP of Uttar Pradesh praising Yogi Adityanath as chief minister was misrepresented as praise for former state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. The viral clip was extracted from one of Chauhan's interviews and shared without proper context, leading to a false narrative.