Fact Check: This video DOES NOT show bike rally going to Jantar Mantar protest site

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, holding an indefinite hunger strike, was removed from Delhi's Jantar Mantar by Delhi police on July 18. A video of a huge convoy of bikes is now going viral, with people claiming that it shows “supporters gathering after the police action and expressing their opposition.”Sharing the video, an Instagram user wrote, “A large number of people have already started gathering at Delhi's Jantar Mantar in support of Sonam Wangchuk, as the activist continues his indefinite hunger strike. The growing turnout reflects increasing public concern and solidarity with his demands.”India Today Fact Check found that the video shows a bike rally on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, held in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district.OUR PROBEReverse-searching frames from the video led us to the Instagram account of Sumit Kumar, who shared it on June 21. He did not provide any details about the video. However, the video carried the watermark of an Instagram user, “Sandeep__Mahi”. We checked the account of “Sandeep__Mahi” and found the video posted on July 16, and again on May 1 and April 17 with the caption “Jai Bhim”. In the comments section, we found people saying the video was from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh.Sandeep shared another version of the video on April 14, the day Ambedkar Jayanti is celebrated. We searched for media reports and found bike rallies were taken out in Basti District on Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14. India Today Fact Check also spoke to Sandeep and his brother Santosh, who is also tagged in several of the posts. Both confirmed that the video of the bike rally was recorded in UP’s Basti district on April 14 during Ambedkar Jayanti.Notably, we found a report of The Tribune published on July 19, according to which, crowds swelled at the Jantar Mantar protest site after Wangchuk's removal. However, we did not find any report on the bike rally.Thus, we concluded that the video is old and does not show people going to Jantar Mantar.- EndsPublished By: Akshat TrivediPublished On: Jul 19, 2026 18:32 IST