A warning has been issued to a Ghaziabad police officer after a video got viral where he was seen intimidating residents with a fake “nationality-detecting machine”. The incident has raised questions about police conduct and verification practices in the National Capital Region. police officials said that no formal orders were issued for any document verification and that an inquiry has been ordered into the officer’s alleged conduct
The video was circulated widely on social media, which showed that Station House Officer (SHO) Ajay Kumar Sharma of the Kaushambi police station reportedly using what appeared to be a device to check the nationality of slum residents near Bihari Market in Ghaziabad. The clip shows Sharma asking a man “Bangladesh k toh nahi ho (Are you from Bangladesh?)”, the man is seen holding an identity card in his hand, Sharma then taps the device on the man’s body.
According to reports, Deputy Commissioner of Police Patil Nimish Dasharath said that, “It was an area domination exercise where the police was asked to ensure its presence in the area. We had not issued any direction for the verification of the document.”
यूपी | ये गाजियाबाद के SHO अजय शर्मा हैं। इनके पास ऐसी मशीन है, जो इंसान की नागरिकता बता देती है। इन्होंने अपना मोबाइल एक व्यक्ति की पीठ पर लगाया और कहा कि मशीन बांग्लादेश बता रही है। जबकि ये लोग खुद को बिहार में अररिया जिले का बताते रहे।
के.चु.आ. जी…SIR फॉर्म भरवाने की बजाय,… pic.twitter.com/Tk2Xh41L4W
— Sachin Gupta (@SachinGuptaUP) January 1, 2026
Locals describe the encounter
Local residents who live in a slum near Vaishali’s Bihari Market described the encounter with the police team which included Rapid Action Force personnel. In the video, Roshni Khatun (25) said that police officers entered several jhuggis “on account of inspection”. She said that, “There are nearly 25 to 30 people in the slum cluster. All of us are Muslims and are residents of Bihar’s Araria district and are here for work.”
She further added that that she was inside her jhuggi when police officers knocked and asked for her aadhar card, “Woh bolein ki koi machine hai unke pas, jisse pata chal jayega ki hum log Bangladesh ke hai ya nhi. Hum log kyun darte jab hum log Bihari hain toh (They said they have a machine that can determine whether we are from Bangladesh or not). Why should we be afraid when we are Bihari?”
When Sharma was asked about his actions, he defended them by saying that he was employing a “psychological trick” learnt from questioning previous detainees. “Last year, we had arrested five people from the same slum cluster who were from Bangladesh. We use this trick while questioning the accused in the police custody so I thought it will work on them too,” he added.
The incident has raised questions about policing methods and respect for civil rights.
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