Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
A disturbing video showing a group of men dragging a woman by her hair, brutally kicking and assaulting her with sticks, while she screams and cries surrounded by onlookers is going viral on social media platforms.
The disturbing footage of the violent incident, which is seen taking place in an open field near a waterbody, is being shared as videographic evidence of caste-based discrimination in UP. Several social media users alleged that the video shows “Hindutva goons” attacking a “Dalit girl in UP” for bathing in the river and “spoiling its sanctity.”
Note: The video contains disturbing visuals and has not been embedded in this article.
Several Twitter users shared the video with the caption, “A dalit girl had a bath in the river of U P. The Hindutwa goondas torture the girl for spoiling the sanctity of the river. Let us make it known to the rulers by sharing widely. (sic)”
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here, here and here.
The video is also doing the rounds on Facebook with the same claim.
Links to such Facebook posts can be found here, here, here and here.
Newschecker also received the video our WhatsApp tipline (+91 9999499044) requesting it to be fact-checked.
Also Read: Video Claiming To Show Rajasthan Dalit Student Being Thrashed By Teacher Is Actually From Bihar
Fact Check/Verification
A keyword search for “Men thrash woman,” “sticks” & “open field” on Google led us to a report by NDTV, dated July 4, 2021, titled ‘Madhya Pradesh Shocker On Camera: Women Beaten With Sticks By Family.’ Displaying a screengrab from the viral video, the report elaborated, “Two women get slapped, kicked, dragged by the hair and beaten with sticks by at least seven people in disturbing videos that have emerged from Madhya Pradesh. The tribal women, who are cousins, were tortured in full public view by their family members because they were apparently talking to their maternal cousins – enraging the family… “
Old Video, No Caste Angle
We looked up keywords “MP,” “tribal women,” “thrashed,” & “talking cousins” on Google, which yielded multiple reports from July 2021 on the incident. One such report by Times Of India, dated July 5, 2021, stated, “... two sisters were attacked brutally in Dhar by their kin merely for talking to their cousins over phone. A video of the assault has gone viral, prompting police to take action. Dhar SP Aditya Pratap Singh told mediapersons that the incident took place in Peepalwa village in Tanda of Dhar district, about 130 km from Indore.”
Another report by India Today, dated July 4, 2021, stated, “As per Tanda police station in-charge Vijay Vaskale, the incident took place on June 22 in Pipalwa village. The viral video reached the police on June 25. However, the victims, aged 19 and 20 years, were initially fearful of registering a complaint. One of the women was then brought to the police station and her statement was recorded. She said that their paternal cousins and other family members stopped them near a school in the village before assaulting them.”
Other reports detailing the incident can be seen here, here and here.
Video Not From UP, Clarifies Police
Additionally, we also found a tweet by UP Police Fact Check, dated January 31, 2023, clarifying that the viral video was not from Uttar Pradesh. The tweet carried a link to a Times Of India report, and stated, “#FactCheck – This video is not related to Uttar Pradesh but to the year 2021, Tanda police station, Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh. Legal action is being implemented against you for misleading tweets.”
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that an old video from Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar showing two women being brutally beaten up by their family members over talking to their maternal cousins on phone is being shared in a false context.
Result: False
Sources
Report By NDTV, Dated July 4, 2021
Report By Times Of India, Dated July 5, 2021
Report By India Today, Dated July 4, 2021
Tweet By UP Police Fact Check, Dated January 31, 2023
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
