Fact Check: Truth behind 'old' viral video clip of Delhi cop assaulting minor boy

A video of a Delhi Police constable thrashing a young boy in the middle of the road has been doing the rounds of the Internet, drawing varied reactions from social media users.

According to news outlet Mojo Story, the boy was allegedly wandering on the streets at night in search of food when the policeman started assaulting him without showing any mercy.

Below is the clip:

However, several netizens dubbed the report as fake and claimed that it was an old video. 

The claim

According to a section of Twitter users, the clip in question is of another incident that took place eight months ago. It has been claimed that the boy was a chain snatcher and was attacking women using blades.

"The video of a policeman beating up a man in Delhi is eight months old. The guy in question is a snatcher who was caught while using blades to attack people. Before the video was shot, he had attacked the cops as well," read a now-deleted tweet by a journalist.

Among those questioning the credibility of the clip was Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra as well. He retweeted the video and wrote, "This is 8 months old video The guy is a chain snatcher caught when he was attacking women on road with blades. He attacked the cops as well with blades."

The clip, so far, has garnered over 1 million views on the micro-blogging website.

Fact-Check:

The Delhi Police have themselves admitted that it is a recent incident and have also debunked the 'chain-snatcher' theory.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest Delhi) Devender Arya informed via Twitter that a probe has been ordered against the constable in the video for his misconduct. The entire episode transpired in RK Puram, Delhi.

"On the night of 22-23rd August, the beat staff on area patrolling near Ekta Vihar JJ camp saw 4-5 boys loitering/sitting around public toilet. Since they were briefed about repeated concerns raised by women of nearby JJ camps, who had been using this public toilet especially in night, were asked to leave the place immediately. During their second round around 3 am they again saw them back and were chased away. An enquiry has been ordered into the conduct of constable as shown in the video," tweeted the DCP, putting all the speculations to rest.