Fact Check: Karnataka Congress MP thrashed by public over sexual harassment claims? No, here are facts

Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media shows a man seated on a sofa surrounded by several others who are thrashing him, while a woman tries to intervene and protect him by speaking to the attackers.

Those sharing the clip claim that it shows Congress MP Aditya from Karnataka being assaulted by the public over allegations of sexual harassment, sharing obscene photos and blackmailing women.

Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “The public has thrashed this ‘youth leader Aditya’ over allegations of sexual harassment, sharing molestation photos and blackmailing women. Have you seen this news in any media? Have you seen any outrage from the ‘secular feminists’? No. No, because this youth leader is Aditya, the Congress MP from Karnataka.” (Translated from Hindi) (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as there are no Congress MPs from Karnataka named Aditya. However, the person in the video has been identified as a Congress leader, not an MP.

Is there a Congress MP from Karnataka named Aditya?

We conducted a keyword search and found Congress is represented by nine MPs from Karnataka in the Lok Sabha: E Thukaram (Bellary), G Kumar Naik (Raichur), K Rajashekar Basavaraj Hitnal (Koppal), Priyanka Jarkiholi (Chikkodi), M Shreyas Patel (Hassan), Prabha Mallikarjun (Davanagere), Radhakrishna (Gulbarga), Sagar Eshwar Khandre (Bidar) and Sunil Bose (Chamarajanagar).

In the Rajya Sabha, the party is represented by five senior leaders: Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh, Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and GC Chandrashekhar. None of these MPs is named Aditya, which clearly debunks the claim made by users sharing the viral video.

Who is in the video?

A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to it, posted by The Siasat Daily on October 29.

According to the outlet, the video depicts a Congress leader from Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, who was arrested on October 28 on charges of sexually harassing a woman and circulating her photographs online.

The footage shows residents assaulting him after the incident came to light on social media. This confirms that the man in the video is indeed a Congress leader but not an MP of the party from Karnataka.

Is the man named Aditya?

Following these leads, we conducted a keyword search and found an NDTV report published on October 29, titled ‘Karnataka Congress Leader Charged With Sexual Harassment, Misusing Photo.’

According to the report, Congress leader Aditya was arrested on charges of sexually harassing a woman and circulating her edited photographs in Karnataka. Police action was taken based on a complaint filed by a woman from Jayanagar. The Chikkamagaluru City Police registered a case (Crime No. 182/25) under sections 75(2) and 78 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), sections 67 and 67(A) of the IT Act, and section 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

The report also mentioned that Aditya was a former Youth Congress vice-president of Aldur Hobli in Chikkamagaluru city.

Therefore, we conclude that the video indeed shows a Congress leader but not an MP from Karnataka. Hence, the claim is misleading.