Fact Check: Video Of VVPAT Shifting Going Viral With Fake Claims

New Delhi Vishvas News – A video clip circulating on social media ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is being claimed as evidence of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) tampering in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, during the last Lok Sabha elections inside a shop. The claim suggests an illegal storage of 300 EVMs had been uncovered.

However, Vishvas News conducted an investigation and determined this claim to be false. The viral video is from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when, following the regulations, the relocation of VVPATs (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) took place in the presence of political party representatives. The video, falsely attributed to the discovery of EVMs in a shop, actually depicts the legitimate shifting of VVPATs during the specified election period.

What’s Going Viral?

Social media user ‘Coopr Farzana’ shared the viral video and wrote, “In 2019, during General Elections, more than 300 EVMs caught by the locals stored inside a shop. Location – Chandauli, UP. The same will repeat unless we switch to ballot papers.” (“Over 300 EVMs were recovered from a shop in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh during the general elections in 2019. Unless we start using ballot paper, this will happen again.”)

Many other users on different social media platforms have shared this video with similar claims.

Vishvas News Investigation:

In our news search, no authentic news reports were found that mentioned the recovery of 300 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from a shop in Chandauli.

Upon further investigation through social media, numerous posts with similar claims were identified. An individual with the username ‘Gurjar’ shared the viral video on his X handle, using the hashtag #IndiaAgainstEvm. The caption accompanying the post read, “Location – Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh #Playing with democracy! Local people seized more than 300 EVM machines kept inside a shop. #IndiaAgainstEvm.”

Refuting the claim made in the post, the Chandauli Police issued a statement, warning against the spread of misleading news and threatening further action, including registering a case under relevant sections.

The District Magistrate (DM) of Chandauli also clarified the situation by responding to the post. He stated, “The investigation of the case has been completed. This video is from the year 2019 Lok Sabha elections when VVPATs were shifted in the presence of representatives of political parties. There was no irregularity of any kind.”

Additionally, legal action has been taken against the user behind the post. This incident has been reported in various news outlets, and according to one report, “On the complaint of the EVM desk in-charge of Chandauli district, a case has been registered against Gurjar Parihar Surendra under section 507 of IPC and section 66D of IT Act for spreading false information regarding EVM shifting.”

Our investigation confirms that the incident in question occurred in 2019 when the shifting of VVPATs was carried out in the presence of political party representatives.

Vishvas News reached out to Chandauli Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar for further clarification. The response from the Superintendent of Police’s office stated, “A case has been registered against the social media user at Kotwali police station for spreading wrong information in this matter.”

The police station where the case was registered also confirmed the details. Gagan Das Singh, the officer at Chandauli Sadar police station, stated, “A case has been registered against a social media handle under various sections of the IT Act and IPC for spreading misinformation related to EVMs.”

In our news search, we found several old reports mentioning this incident, with a statement issued by the Election Commission spokesperson in 2019, highlighting the VVPAT machine shifting process in the presence of political parties. Similar misinformation had circulated previously in 2019 with another viral video.

The user who shared the video with false claims has a following of about 2,000 people on Facebook.