Jaipur: A dispute has emerged between the Punjab and Rajasthan Police over the location of a viral video showing youths allegedly appearing to be under the influence of drugs.
The video was shared by Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya (BJP) Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh, who claimed that it showed the deteriorating condition of Punjab’s youth due to drug abuse.
The Punjab Police subsequently claimed that the video was from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.
However, Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Hari Shankar has rejected the claim, saying that the video is not connected to the district and that the youths shown in it are from Punjab.
While sharing the video on social media platform X, Harbhajan Singh expressed concern over drug abuse among young people in Punjab and appealed for urgent action to save the state’s youth.
He described the situation as deeply distressing and urged governments and society to address the growing problem of drug addiction.
The video shows several youths apparently standing in a dazed condition.
It subsequently went viral on social media, with claims that they were under the influence of so-called “zombie drugs”.
After the BJP MP’s social media post, the Punjab Police responded on social media, saying that the viral video was from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan and not in Punjab.
The Punjab Police said that the video had no connection with an incident in Punjab and urged social media users to verify the location and facts before sharing such content.
The police also pointed out that merely adding Punjabi audio to a video does not establish that the incident occurred in Punjab.
Sri Ganganagar SP Hari Shankar has now contradicted the Punjab Police’s claim.
The SP said the video was uploaded on Instagram around three or four days ago by a person from Pilibanga in Hanumangarh district, but there is no connection between the video and Sri Ganganagar.
According to the SP, the video is actually from Punjab.
The Rajasthan Police are attempting to trace the person who uploaded the video to establish its origin and circumstances.
The Sri Ganganagar SP said that the Rajasthan Police would issue a formal clarification regarding the matter.
The controversy has now shifted from the alleged drug use shown in the video to the question of where the video was actually recorded, with the Punjab and Rajasthan Police taking conflicting positions on its location.
(IANS)
