The Ghaziabad Police has ordered an inquiry after a video circulated on social media showed a station house officer intimidating residents in temporary settlements in Kaushambi by claiming that a device could determine whether they were “Bangladeshi”.

In the video that was widely shared online, the station house officer of the Kaushambi police station was seen placing what appears to be a smartphone on the back of an elderly man and asking if he was a Bangladeshi.

“The machine shows that you are, doesn’t it?” he asserted.

The man and his family are heard saying that they hail from Araria district in Bihar and are seen showing identity documents on a mobile phone. The officials, however, appear unconvinced by their claims.

The Ghaziabad Police later said the incident took place during an “area domination” exercise, during which residents of temporary settlements and slums were being asked questions.

The police officer concerned “has been given a strict warning that such behavior should not recur in the future”, Indirapuram Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhishek Srivastava said.

In an earlier statement, the Ghaziabad Police said the exercise was not intended to verify nationality, but was part of standard security procedures, the Hindustan Times reported.

Such area domination exercises are carried out to ensure public safety, particularly during festive periods such as Christmas and New Year, the police said.

The family involved alleged that police personnel tried to intimidate them by repeatedly claiming they were Bangladeshi nationals, the Hindustan Times reported.

Mohammad Saddique, the 76-year-old man seen in the video, said the officers argued with his daughter and dismissed the documents shown to them. He added that his family had been living in Ghaziabad since 1987.