‘Communal bias and hatred’: Owaisi reacts to Ghaziabad cop’s ‘nationality test’ video

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday criticised the Ghaziabad police over a viral video showing an officer using a device to ‘test’ a man’s nationality and called it a clear example of hatred and communal bias.

The controversy erupted after a video circulated on social media showing a senior police officer in Ghaziabad placing what appeared to be a smartphone on the back of a man and declaring that he was “from Bangladesh.”

The police later said the incident took place during a “routine area domination exercise” in a slum cluster.

Owaisi took to X to share an HT report titled 'Ghaziabad cop uses device to ‘test’ man’s nationality, tells him he is 'from Bangladesh'; inquiry ordered' and wrote, "The same device should be put on the Cops head to see if his first floor has cerebrum,this is a clear example of hatred & communal bias as the victims name is Muhammad Sadiq of Araria Bihar".

HT earlier reported that the officer is heard in the video telling a woman and a man, “Don’t tell a lie; we have a machine that can detect a lie.”

Throughout the exchange, the woman and a minor girl standing beside her insist they are from Araria in Bihar and show documents on a mobile phone, but the group of around half a dozen police personnel appears unconvinced.

DCP (Trans-Hindon) Nimish Patil said the video was recorded during an “area domination exercise” carried out by officials of the Kaushambi police station along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel in the slum cluster of the Bihari Market area on December 23.

An area domination exercise typically involves a visible police and paramilitary presence in sensitive or densely populated areas to deter crime, maintain public order and gather intelligence.

Senior police officials, who did not wish to be identified, said the officer seen in the video is the station house officer of the Kaushambi police station.

However, the police have not officially named him, citing the ongoing inquiry.

Responding to the controversy, the police said the exercise was part of routine security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year.

“It was only an area domination exercise… It was during this that the video surfaced, and an inquiry has been ordered, which has been assigned to the ACP of the Indirapuram circle,” Patil said.

The affected family has alleged that police personnel attempted to intimidate them by claiming they were Bangladeshi. Mohammad Saddique, 76, the man seen in the video, said the personnel argued with his 22-year-old daughter over the supposed machine. “We showed them all the required proof,” he said, asserting that the family is from Bihar.