Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Officers of the Kerala Police dancing to the tune of Kaccha badaam in uniform.
Fact-check/Verification
In order to verify the veracity of the claim, Newschecker began by conducting a keyword search on the words kacha badaam and Kerala police, and found several reports in News18, News24, India Tv, that reported the same claim.
On analysing the video thoroughly and found a billboard with the words ‘Dewland Hotel’ written on it, indicating that the video was shot at the lobby of the hotel.
Newschecker spoke to State Police Media Centre Deputy Director V P Pramod Kumar, who said that those seen dancing to the song kacha badaam are not officers of the Kerala Police. “The people seen dancing are part of a cinema shooting held in Dewland Hotel in Kochi,” he said.
We further contacted the staff of Dewland hotel who confirmed that the members seen dancing to the song kacha badaam in the video are part of the film crew shooting for the Malayalam movie Rakshasi.
On further research we found the same video posted on Instagram by user Preeti Goswami on March 8, 2022. “Kam chahe jo ho, har kaam ko enjoy kijiye hame bhi haq hain… love from COP.”
Our research revealed to us that Preeti Goswami is an actress who is playing the role of a policewoman in the upcoming Malayalam action thriller Rakshasi. But we could not ascertain if the Instagram handle is the original handle of Preeti Goswami.
Conclusion
Th viral video that claims to show Kerala police grooving to popular song Kacha badaam is actually from a film shoot and performed by the crew of the movie, and not officers of the Kerala police.
This fact check was originally published by our Hindi team. You can read it here.
If you would like us to fact check a claim, give feedback or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
