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 video showing policemen thrashing a group of men with lathis, as they scream and yell in pain, is being widely shared on social media platforms claiming to show police crackdown on protesters during the recent violence in Kanpur. Newschecker has found the video to be two years old, and unrelated to the recent events in Kanpur.
Twitter user ‘@TyagiBharatOM’ who identifies himself as a ‘Proud BJP Member’ was among the users who shared the eighteen-second video with the caption “Midnight treatment by UP Police #Kanpur #KanpurViolence” on June 4, 2022. The video has been viewed over 44k times and retweeted over 280 times so far. An archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
The video is doing the rounds on social media platforms with users linking it to the Kanpur violence.
Links to such posts can be found here, here, here and here.
What Happened In Kanpur?
Violence was reported in UP’s Kanpur on June 3, 2022, after some people objected to a bandh called by another group to protest against the now-suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma’s objectionable comments during a TV debate. Tension erupted after protesters, who had called for a bandh, allegedly forced the closure of shops owned by Hindus in the Pared locality of the district and soon spilled over to Becon Ganj, Anwarganj, and Mool Ganj. Reportedly, protesters pelted stones, fired shots, and lobbed petrol bombs at the policemen who were using batons to disperse the mob. At least 40 people, including 20 police personnel, were injured during the clash.
Fact Check/Verification
We scanned through the comment sections associated with the viral video and found a comment by user ‘@aryan3_swan’ saying “This is not kanpur, This is mumbra” as a reply to the clip posted by user ‘@TyagiBharatOM.’
Taking a clue, we conducted keyword search in Hindi for “मुंब्रा+पुलिस+युवा+पिटाई” on YouTube and found a video uploaded on the official channel of Rajasthan Patrika on April 9, 2020 and spotted several stills from the viral clip.
The report by Rajasthan Patrika confirmed that the video is also and shows an incident that took place in Mumbra’s Shree Lanka.
Notably, the same video was doing the rounds on social media platforms in April 2020 with the claim to show Indore police’s crackdown on people accused of pelting stones at a team of doctors.
You can view such social media posts here, here and here.
Newschecker further conducted a keyword search and found a video uploaded on the verified YouTube channel of ‘Hindustani Reporter’ on April 29, 2020 with a Hindi caption which roughly translates to ‘2 groups clash at Kausa, Sri Lanka.’ At the counters of 2:58 minute we found the viral video.
The incident reportedly took place on March 27, 2020 around 11-11:30 pm in Kausa’s Shree Lanka area in Mumbra after a clash erupted between two groups affiliated to local politicians -Rehan Pitalwala and Raju Ansari- both members of the Rashtrawadi Congress party. Following which, police restored the lathi charge to disperse people and pacify the situation.
Conclusion
Video of police lathi charge on a group of men is neither recent nor from Kanpur. The video was shot in 2020 in Maharashtra’s Mumbra showing clashes between two groups.
Result: False Context/False
Sources
Tweet By @aryan3_swan On June 4, 2022
YouTube Video By Rajasthan Patrika, Dated April 9, 2020
YouTube Video By Hindustani Reporter, Dated March 29, 2020
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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.
