Authors
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.
In the wake of the multiple cases filed against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remarks against Prophet Mohammad, several social media users are sharing a video of a woman being dragged and assaulted in the middle of a milling crowd, claiming it to be a video of Sharma’s arrest. However, Newschecker investigation has found the video to be unrelated to Nupur Sharma and the reports of her arrest are false.
The video was shared by several users on Facebook and Twitter. While several users pointed out the video to be fake, most users congratulated the police for ‘arresting Nupur Sharma’.
Nupur Sharma’s remarks had triggered a wave of condemnation from across the globe with several Gulf countries including Qatar, Kuwait and Iran calling the Indian Ambassadors to register their protest. Sharma’s suspension, which happened ten days after her remarks, was hardly the quick fix that BJP aimed for and the online outrage against her comments continued. Sharma on the other hand is facing a number of complaints in several parts of the country including several cities in Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.
Fact check/Verification
Newschecker looked up the keywords ‘Nupur Sharma’ and arrest and found several articles that revealed that she had skipped police summons by Kolkata police citing threat to life.
No reports indicated that Nupur Sharma has been arrested by any state police.
We further split the viral video into several keyframes and conducted reverse image searches on them, but again, found no relevant leads.
Next, we conducted a keyword search on social media websites using the keywords ‘Nupur Sharma’ and ‘Arrested’ in Hindi and found the same video posted by user Javed_Shaikh with the caption ‘Nupur Sharma girftar’. On analysing the comment section, we noticed a comment by user Soyal Bhati, who said “This is not Nupur Sharma, this is Bhumi Birmi, who always fights for the rights of the farmers”.
Using this as a clue, Newschecker investigated further and found a longer version of the video posted on June 15 by Bhumi Birmi, who identifies herself as the District President, Women Wing, Bhartiya Kisan Union(Non-political), Churu.
In the longer version of the video, we clearly see a scuffle between the police and a group of people, with the police attempting to break up what appears to be a protest. Newschecker further conducted a keyword search with the words ‘Bhumi Birmi’ ‘Churu’ ‘Protest’, and found reports that indicated that the video was from the incident.
A report on ABP live read “The movement of All India Kisan Sabha in Churu’s Taranagar assembly constituency became furious. After a huge public meeting in the Agricultural Produce Market, the farmers reached the subdivision office, demonstrating unitedly and tried to break the barricades put up by the police and forcibly enter. During this there was a clash between the farmers and the police. The women involved in the movement were beaten with sticks by the women police holding the hair. The police thwarted attempts by the group to enter the SDM office.”
According to the report, women who participated in the protest were thrashed by the police. The report also revealed that Bhumi was among the many farmer leaders who addressed the gathering.
Newschecker also found another version of the same video that was reported by local channel First India News on June 16, 2022. The video clearly shows the standoff between the police and protesters including Bhumi Birmi, as they try to break the barricades in front of the SDM office, is clearly seen in the video.
Newschecker Hindi team also reached out to Bhumi Birmi, who confirmed that the woman seen in the viral video was her. She further added that she and her companions were trying to enter the SDM office on June 15 with their demands, which resulted in clashes with the police.
Conclusion
A video of Rajasthan farmer leader Bhumi Birmi, who is being manhandled by police during a protest outside the SDM office in Churu, is being shared with false claims that Nupur Sharma has been arrested.
Result: False
Sources
Bhumi Birmi Facebook page
ABP Live
YouTube snippet of First India News
Interview of Bhumi Birmi
(With inputs by Arjun Deodia of Newschecker Hindi)
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Authors
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.
