Did the police recover more than 300 EVM machines from Chandauli? No, the video is old from 2019
Claim
Rating
Explanation
In a 45-second clip, numerous individuals are seen moving around a room carrying EVM boxes. We also see that a few people use mobile phones to record this incident. This post is shared with a claim stating, “In Chandauli, UP they caught more than 300 EVM from inside a shop.” The user has also added, hashtags like #Election #Scam #SupremeCourtofIndia #ElectionCommission #BJP #UttarPradesh. You can view related posts with similar claims here, here, and here.
More than 300 EVMs caught inside a shop in Chandauli . #EVM pic.twitter.com/p7LfRNMauo
— PUNEET VIZH (@Puneetvizh) January 30, 2024
What’s the truth?
We used a few keywords to search Google for reports regarding the incident, but we were unable to locate any recent, reliable ones that detailed the recovery of so many EVMs from Chandauli, UP.
When we advanced our search, we found reply posts by DM Chandauli and the Chandauli Police. The X post of DM Chandauli read “The investigation of the case has been completed. This video is from the year 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At that time VVPAT was shifted in the presence of representatives of political parties. There was no irregularity in any way.”
https://t.co/coc8ElZYoZ प्रकरण की जाँच पूर्ण कर ली गई है। यह वीडियो वर्ष २०१९ लोक सभा चुनाव के दौरान का है।तत्समय VVPAT को राजनीतिक दलों के प्रतिनिधियों की उपस्थिति में शिफ्ट किया गया था। किसी प्रकार से कोई अनियमित कार्य नहीं हुआ था।
— DM CHANDAULI (@dmchandauli) January 29, 2024
Likewise, the X post of Chandauli Police read, “The above video is of the time of depositing the EVM after the General Elections-2019, which is being rumored as current. A case has been registered against the person who posted this in priority. Legal action will be taken by registering a case against those spreading such misleading rumors.”
उपरोक्त विडियो सामान्य निर्वाचन-2019 के बाद EVM को जमा करते समय का जिसे वर्तमान का बताकर अफवाह फैलाया जा रहा है। प्राथमिकता पोस्ट करने वाले के विरूद्ध अभियोग पंजीकृत किया गया है। ऐसे भ्रामक अफवाह फैलाने वालों के विरूद्ध अभियोग पंजीकृत कर विधिक कार्यवाही की जाएगी।
— Chandauli Police (@chandaulipolice) January 30, 2024
Further, we intensified our search and found the same video uploaded in 2019 as an X post with similar claims can be seen here and here.
With further search, an article on Business Insider is found reporting that reserved EVMs from Sakaldiha assembly segment of Chandauli were brought to Naveen Mandi Sthal and they were meant to be stored in a different room at the place.
Therefore, the above information confirms that the video is four years old and not a recent one as suggested by the viral claims.
Conclusion:
Thus, we conclude that the video is old and doing rounds on the internet since 2019. The video is of transporting reserved EVMs in the strong room of Naveen Mandi of Chandauli to another place during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
