Fact Check: Viral photos of Arnab Goswami being tortured by police are false

Hyderabad: Arnab Goswami, the editor-in-chief of Republic Media Network, was arrested on 4 November for allegedly abetting the suicide of Anvay Naik, an interior designer from Mumbai. Following his arrest, several users on social media shared photos of a man being beaten up by the police claiming that the man was Arnab Goswami.

Gourav Goel, the BJP's state spokesperson, shared these photos along with the caption, "Can't believe he is #ArnabGoswami. If it's real.....Maharashtra Govt has asked for the doomsday. I m terribly Perturbed." The photos went viral and have garnered 5.2 likes and 2.5 retweets.

Can't believe he is #ArnabGoswami
If it's real.....Maharashtra Govt has asked for the dooms day.

I m terribly Perturbed.#महाराष्ट्र_सरकार_बरखास्त_करो @TajinderBagga pic.twitter.com/80l4iwJGq1

— Gaurav Goel (@goelgauravbjp) November 4, 2020

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These photos were shared widely on both Twitter and Facebook.

कुछ ऐसी तस्वीरें आ रही हैं
क्या यह सच्चाई है ?? 😪

क्या हिंदुत्व के सिपाही ऐसे ही मारे जाएंगे, देख लो आँख खोलकर, दो पुलिसवालों ने पैर पकड़ रखा है, एक ने सीने पर पैर रखा है....और बेल्ट से मार रहा...#ArnabGoswami
😡😡 pic.twitter.com/jdmWZRLnfg

— Sudhir Mishra (@Sudhir_mishr) November 4, 2020

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On Facebook:

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Fact Check:

These claim that the man being beaten up by the police is Arnab Goswami is FALSE. The photos are from an incident that took place in Uttar Pradesh in January 2020 where the cops assaulted a man for stealing a phone.

NewsMeter performed a simple reverse image search on Google and found a report featuring the same viral image published by News18 on 10 January 2020. The article was titled "Legs Held Up, Shoe on Face, Belt Buckle Beating: On Cam, UP Police's Punishment for 'Phone Thief'."

According to the article, "A shocking video of three policemen brutally assaulting a man inside a police station in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district recently surfaced, following which the cops were suspended, and an FIR ordered against them on Friday." The person in the video was identified as Sumith Goswami.

A relevant keyword search on YouTube led to a video report by NDTV on the same incident. It was uploaded on 9 January this year.

So, it is evident from media reports that the person in the viral pictures is not Arnab Goswami and the claim made on social media is FALSE.