Lighthouse Journalism found a video that is being widely shared on social media platforms. It was claimed that a recent incident came to light where policemen were seen beating a person. Some users also claimed that the video was related to the recent Waqf Act protests.
During the investigation, we found that the video was from 2020 and from Madhya Pradesh.
Claim:
X user Aadhya Yadav shared the video, prompting that it was recent.
Other users are also sharing the video with similar claims.
The caption of the video was: ইন্ডিয়াতে ওয়াকফ বিল প্রতিবাদে মুসলমানকে পিটিয়ে হত্যা করল পুলিশ
Translation: Police beat a Muslim to death during the Waqf Bill protest in India
Investigation:
We started the investigation of the video by uploading it to the InVid tool.
We ran a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the video, which led us to a post from 2020.
The incident was said to be from Madhya Pradesh.
We also found a news report about the incident.
The report stated: However, senior police officer Shashank Garg told reporters, “An old video has gone viral that shows a man being beaten. We have taken note of it. Two policemen, Krishna Dongre and Ashish, are seen in the clip. The man was seen creating a ruckus. We have ordered a probe. No case has been filed against him. We will wait for the probe to complete.”
Another news report stated that the policemen seen in the video were suspended.
The report stated: According to preliminary information, the man was drunk and was creating a nuisance near a bank branch, and the staff had complained to the police. No case was registered against the man for violating the lockdown. Even as bystanders tried to stop the constables, they went on beating the victim.
Conclusion: Old video of Madhya Pradesh police beating a drunk man in 2020 is being shared as recent, linking it to Waqf Act protests. The viral claim is misleading.
