Updated 2 January 2026 at 08:47 IST
Ghaziabad Citizenship Check: UP Police Say Phone Can Scan Nationality, Use It on Bihar Man, Claim He’s Bangladeshi
A viral video from Ghaziabad shows UP Police using a mobile phone on a man’s back to “scan” his citizenship, claiming he was Bangladeshi despite his family presenting Aadhaar cards. The bizarre act sparked ridicule, memes, and hashtags as social media users compared the scene to a supermarket barcode reader.
Ghaziabad police have found themselves at the centre of a storm of laughter and disbelief after a video from December 23 went viral showing an officer pressing a mobile phone against a young man’s back and declaring him Bangladeshi. The clip, shot in a slum cluster near Bhovapur under Kaushambi police station, features SHO Ajay Sharma confidently calling his phone a “machine” that can detect nationality. He is heard saying, “The machine is showing this man is a Bangladeshi,” while the youth and his family insist they are residents of Araria, Bihar, even producing Aadhaar cards to prove it.
The bizarre “back scan” instantly became fodder for social media. Users compared the act to supermarket checkout counters, joking that Ghaziabad police had invented a barcode reader for humans. Memes flooded timelines, with edited versions adding beeping sounds every time the phone touched the man’s back. Others quipped about downloading the “Bangladeshi detector app” and scanning their friends for fun.
Ridicule was swift and relentless. Comments ranged from “Next time carry your passport in your spine” to “Ghaziabad police have solved the mystery of citizenship with one tap.” The video spread across platforms. Twitter users joked that the officer had discovered a new kind of biometric technology.
Witnesses said Sharma arrived with a team of police and RAF personnel to check the citizenship of slum residents. When one family presented identity cards, he dismissed them and instead pressed his phone against the youth’s back. Despite repeated denials from the family, Sharma maintained the “machine” showed otherwise.
As the video spread, the Uttar Pradesh Police finally responded on X. In their post, they said: “In the course of crime-control efforts, verification of suspected individuals in temporary settlements and slums is conducted from time to time. In this process, Kaushambi police carried out verification, during which documents of people were examined for authenticity.” The statement avoided directly mentioning the viral clip, instead stressing that documents were checked.
But the internet wasn’t convinced. Users continued to roast the episode, saying the official clarification sidestepped the bizarre visuals that sparked the ridicule. For now, the only verdict is from social media, which has turned the Ghaziabad “back scan” into a comedy sketch.
Published By : Priya Pathak
Published On: 2 January 2026 at 08:47 IST