Gangtok, July 23 -- Mumbai Police has launched an official inquiry after a viral video appeared to show a police officer threatening detained student protesters with fake criminal charges, including falsely linking them to a drug case if they continued to join the demonstrations.

Reports indicate that students recorded the video while inside a police vehicle after being detained during protests in Mumbai. In the footage, the police officer is said to warn the students that they could face serious narcotics charges and potentially spend the rest of their lives in prison if they returned to protest.

The video spread quickly on social media, resulting in widespread backlash and prompting Mumbai Police to start an internal inquiry. Authorit...