Fact Check: Dalit couple assaulted for passing through ‘upper caste road’ in Uttar Pradesh? No, here are the facts
A video of a few men assaulting, hurling abuses and filming a man and a woman is going viral on social media. The men are seen disrobing, molesting and beating the woman with a stick.
By K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows a Dalit couple on a bike being assaulted for passing through an 'upper caste road' in Uttar Pradesh.
Fact:The claim is false. The incident took place in the Saran District of Bihar in 2021. There are no reports terming the incident as a hate crime against Dalits.
(Disclaimer: The video contains graphic images that may be disturbing to viewers. We did not provide any direct links to the video in the story.)
Hyderabad: A video claiming to show a Dalit couple from Uttar Pradesh being harassed for passing through an ‘upper caste road’ is going viral on social media.
In the video, we can see a man and woman on a bike being harassed and filmed by some men. The men can be seen trying to disrobe the woman seated on the pillion seat, molesting her as she is trying to protect herself. Another man, holding a stick, is seen beating the woman. The men are also heard hurling abuses at the couple as the couple managed to start the bike and get away.
The video was shared on Facebook with the caption, “Uttar Pradesh: A Dalit couple was passing through an upper caste road when they were stopped on the road, their bike stopped and the woman’s saree and blouse torn by the upper caste people.” (Translated from Telugu) (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The incident took place in the Saran District of Bihar in 2021, and there are no reports terming this assault as a hate crime on a Dalit couple for passing through an ‘upper caste road.'
Using reverse image search, we found a Hindustan report using a screenshot from the viral video. The report was published on October 6, 2021, with the title ‘Chhapra: Woman kept screaming, miscreants kept pulling her sari, four arrested as video went viral.’ (Translated from Hindi)
According to the report, the incident took place in the Dariyapur Police Station area of Saran District in Bihar. After the video went viral, the police identified six of the offenders and arrested four of them.
A Navbharat Times report on the incident was published on the same with the title, ‘Chhapra Viral Video: The beasts seen in the viral video of Chhapra have been caught, till when will the ‘vulture culture’ continue in Bihar?’ (Translated from Hindi)
The report stated that the incident took place on September 27, 2021, in the Chanwar area of Lakshmanchak. The police were not able to find the victim.
An X post by the Saran District Administration was linked in the Hindustan report. The post shared a press release by the Saran Police in connection to the incident. The post shared the details of the offenders, location and time of the incident as identified by the police.
There was no mention of the assault being a hate crime against a Dalit couple. We found no news reports or credible social media posts terming the incident assault by upper caste persons on a Dalit couple.
However, we were unable to independently identify the motive behind the assault.
The incident took place on September 27, 2021, in the Saran District of Bihar, not Uttar Pradesh. There are no reports terming the assault an attack on Dalit couple for passing through ‘upper caste road’.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
