‘Will plant drugs’: Mumbai cop threatens protesting students, police order probe
Mumbai Police have launched an inquiry after a viral video surfaced showing a police officer threatening to plant drugs on protesting students. The officer has been removed from his post pending the outcome of the investigation.
Why it matters
The incident highlights concerns regarding police conduct, potential abuse of power, and the treatment of student protesters in India.
The Mumbai Police on Thursday (July 23, 2026) ordered an inquiry and shunted a policeman from his current posting pending inquiry after a viral video was posted by the Congress in which the policeman, a driver with Mumbai Police, is seen threatening protesting students.
A delegation of Maharashtra Congress led by its president Harshawardhan Sapkal met Maharashtra Director General of Police Sadanand Date and Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, seeking action against the person. In a memorandum submitted to the police, Congress sought immediate release of the detained students in Mumbai. It said the police action of pre-emptive detention of students was anti-democratic and illegal, alleging that the police misused preventive orders to file false FIRs.
The policeman seen in the video worked at Sion Police Station till he was moved out, the State’s Home Department said.
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