Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
Claim
Caste-based crime in UP’s Meerut, where a Dalit man was thrashed, tonsured, his face blackened and garlanded with shoes
Fact
Both the victim and attacker are from the Dalit community, the incident had no caste angle to it
A disturbing video is doing the rounds on social media with the claim that it shows a caste-based crime in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut where a Dalit man was tied to a tree, thrashed, tonsured and his face blackened in front of a crowd.
In another video of the incident, the same man can be seen tied to a tree, while another man is heard announcing that he was being punished for molesting a girl.
Users are sharing the video with the caption, “a Dalit youth Lakhan’s Hand and feet tied to the tree and his face was blackened and then made bald in front of the crowd in Meerut Uttar Pradesh. During this, a garland of shoes and slippers was also put around his neck”.
The video is viral on Facebook and Twitter. Some verified Twitter handles also shared the post.
Fact Check/Verification
Newschecker analysed the viral posts thoroughly and in one of the posts, saw a comment by the Meerut Police, pointing out that both the parties in the incident were relatives and that allegations were leveled against one by another. The police’s tweet further clarified that four accused have been arrested.
We also found media reports on the incident, like the ABP news report, which revealed that the incident took place in the Brahmpuri police station area in Meerut. It says that a man named Lakhan was thrashed for molesting a niece of the accused. A report on Amar Ujala stated that both parties have an old rivalry.
Newschecker then reached out to Shuchita Singh, the circle officer of Brahmpuri police station, who informed us that there was no caste angle to the incident as both the accused and the victim were from the Dalit community.
We further contacted the family of the victim, Lakhan. Lakhan’s brother, Bhanu Sansi, confirmed that the accused was a distant relative of theirs and belonged to the Dalit community.
As per Bhanu, “Lakhan was thrashed because they were upset over him for allegedly molesting their sister. But in fact, she was the one who caught feelings for Lakhan. My brother rejected the girl’s proposal because she was a family member, although distant, and was a sister in relation. One day, the girl came to meet my brother at our house, which was when her family caught both of them together and thrashed Lakhan.”
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that there is no caste angle to the incident, where a Dalit man was beaten up and tonsured in Meerut. Both the Meerut Police and the family of the victim have confirmed to Newschecker that both parties were related and belonged to the same community.
Rating: Missing Context
Our Sources
Tweet of Meerut Police, posted on March 28, 2023
Reports of ABP News & Amar Ujala
Telephonic conversation with Meerut Police & Victim’s family
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Authors
An Electronics & Communication engineer by training, Arjun switched to journalism to follow his passion. After completing a diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute, he has been debunking mis/disinformation for over three years. His areas of interest are politics and social media. Before joining Newschecker, he was working with the India Today Fact Check team.
