Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Gujarat police beat up a Muslim youth for harassing a Hindu girl on Raksha Bandhan
Fact
Viral video dates back to 2015, when Surat police beat up two men who were allegedly harassing women
Several social media users are sharing a video purportedly showing police personnel thrashing two people, claiming that the Gujarat Police had caught a Muslim harassing a Hindu girl on Raksha Bandhan, which fell on August 30 this year.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
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Fact Check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this NewsX report, dated December 10, 2015, stating, “An eve teaser was brutally humiliated by police in Surat, after he was tied to a car and beaten up with sticks”.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a relevant keyword search, which led us to this India Today report, dated December 9, 2015, stating, “Gujarat police brutally thrashed alleged eve-teasers using lathis on the streets of Surat.” A similar report by ABP News can be seen here, stating, “Surat police beat up two alleged eve teasers publicly. The duo [Nadeem and Kadir] were beaten up by lathis in the middle of a road. Questions are being raised that why is the police taking the law into their hands?”.
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Conclusion
A 2015 video of Surat police thrashing two men for allegedly harassing women is being passed off as a recent incident.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Youtube video, NewsX , December 10, 2015
Youtube video, IndiaToday , December 09, 2015
Youtube video, ABP News , December 09, 2015
This copy was originally done for Newschecker Kannada by Ishwarachandra BG
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
