Fact Check: 2020 lockdown video of police lathi-charge shared as communal incident
A video circulating online allegedly shows police beating Muslims during the Nagarbetta Puja.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 11 Aug 2024 2:00 PM GMT
Claim: A video circulating online claims to show police officers thrashing Muslims during the Nagapanchami festivalĀ onĀ AugustĀ 9.
Fact: The claim is false. The video shows police enforcing Covid-19 lockdown rules in 2020.
Hyderabad: A video is circulating online that claims to show police officers thrashing Muslims during the Nagapanchami festival as part of the Nagarbetta Puja celebrations.
An X user shared the video with the caption, āOn the occasion of Nagar Panchami, our policemen celebrated Nagarabetta Puja with great enthusiasm, I salute them.ā (Archive)
A similar post can be seen here. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false.
A reverse image search led us to a News18 report titled āVIDEO: Namaaz was performed during lockdown, police lathi-charged people who came out of the mosque,ā dated March 26, 2020. The report carried a screengrab of the video.
According to the report, the incident occurred in Belgaum, Karnataka, when a group gathered at a mosque to perform namaz despite lockdown orders. The police, after receiving information, arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd using batons. This indicates that the video is old.
A keyword search uncovered a video published by The Economic Times Facebook page with the caption āPolice lathicharge people gathered at Mosque amid lockdown in Belgaum | #CoronavirusLockdown #Live #Updatesā on March 27, 2020.
Additionally, a post by ANI on X, dated March 26, 2020, stated, āPolice thrash people for violating #Coronaviruslockdown in Belgaum. The incident happened outside a Mosque when people were leaving after offering prayers.ā
Hence, the claim that police were beating Muslims during Nagarbetta Puja as part of Nagapanchami celebrations is false. The video is from 2020 and shows police enforcing Covid-19 lockdown measures. There is no communal angle to the incident.
