Delhi Police said they have asked Twitter to remove the video
The Delhi Police said today that "fake messages" of police shutting down coaching centres in Mukherjee Nagar in north Delhi were circulating on social media and a case had been filed. The police also said they would write to Twitter to take down a video that apparently shows a police officer warning students and asking them to leave immediately.
"We have registered a case against fake messages of police shutting down coaching centres in Mukherjee Nagar being circulated on social media. We are also writing to Twitter to remove the video as its content has been edited," police officer Vijyanta Arya told news agency ANI.
A video circulating on Twitter shows a policeman brusquely asking people to leave the area by December 24 and return on January 2.
"We will close all PGs (paying guest accommodations), restaurants, library and coaching classes on December 24. Book your tickets and return to your homes. Come back on January 2, take it as winter break. The law and order situation is not good. We are shutting down everything. No one will create any nuisance. Do you understand Section 144 (a ban on large gatherings)? A public nuisance case will be filed, understand?" the police officer says in the video.
"Why do you want to ruin your career? If you don't want cases against you, then forget classes and go home," he adds.
Mukherjee Nagar, close to the Delhi University main campus, is home to thousands of students renting apartments or sharing paying guest accommodations. Many have said a "notice" asking students to leave until January 2 had been circulating on WhatsApp, after which a few landlords asked their guests to leave. "We went to the police last night and confirmed with them that the notice was fake, then assured our landlord," Neeraj said on Wednesday.
Large gatherings were banned in parts of Delhi for protests last week against the citizenship law and police excesses while dealing with students during protests at Jamia Millia University.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act has provoked outrage because it is the first law to make religion a criterion for citizenship. The government says it will help non-Muslim minorities escaping religious persecution in Muslim-dominated countries to become Indian citizens. Opposition parties, activists and even some allies of the government, say the law discriminates against Muslims, and is therefore a violation of the constitution.