Fact Check: Stone pelter of train going to Kumbh Mela thrashed by police? No, video is from West Bengal and unrelated
A video of police beating a man has been circulating on social media with the claim that he was accused of pelting stones at a train heading to the Kumbh Mela.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 4 Feb 2025 4:35 PM IST
Claim: The video shows police beating a man accused of pelting stones at a train bound for Kumbh Mela.
Fact: The claim is false. The video is unrelated to the Kumbh Mela. It actually depicts an incident linked to a land dispute in Birbhum, West Bengal.
Social media has been rife with misinformation surrounding the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. A video showing men in police uniforms beating a man while two women attempt to protect him has been circulating on social media, accompanied by a claim that the man is accused of pelting stones at the train heading to Kumbh Mela.
An X user shared the video and wrote, āThose who pelted stones on trains going to Maha Kumbh are being chased like pigs and caught and their beating is going on.ā (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found the claim to be false. The video is related to a land dispute in West Bengal.
A reverse image search of the videoās keyframes led us to an ETV Bangla report published on January 28. According to the report, land disputes have been a long-standing issue in Suri city of Birbhum in West Bengal, with criminals frequently resorting to violence to seize land. On January 28, two armed miscreants entered the area to grab land but were surrounded and beaten by locals.
Upon receiving the information, a police team led by Suri police station SHO Sanchayan Bandyopadhyay reached the spot and detained the two miscreants. However, in a shocking turn of events, a miscreant grabbed Bandyopadhyayās collar leading to police personnel resorting to a lathi charge. The report also mentioned that police recovered a firearm and cartridges from the scene, deployed additional forces, and launched an investigation.
According to a January 28 report by ETV 9, which features a screengrab from the video, police have arrested 20 people in connection with the unrest in the Mini Steel area under Suri police station in Birbhum. Among those arrested is Babu Ansari, the youth president of Trinamool Congress in the Mallikpur area. Amir Ansari, the man who grabbed the police officerās collar, has also been taken into custody. He had previously been arrested in an arson case and was out on bail at the time of the incident.
Another report of ABP Anand of January 28, featuring a screengrab from the video suggests that both groups involved in the land dispute are linked to the Trinamool Congress. On January 29, The Print reported that 20 people were arrested and three firearms were seized after an armed gang assaulted a police officer in Suri, Birbhum district, West Bengal.
Therefore, we conclude that the video in connection with a land dispute in West Bengal is being falsely linked to police beating a man accused of pelting stones on a train heading to Kumbh Mela.
