Fact Check: Video from MP viral as lower caste youths assaulted for bathing in Ganges in UP
The video is from Madhya Pradesh, not Uttar Pradesh and there is no caste angle to the incident.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 10 Oct 2024 10:40 AM GMT
Claim: The video shows lower caste men being assaulted for bathing in the Ganga River in UP.
Fact: The claim is false. The incident was from Madhya Pradesh. The men were beaten up by the locals for bathing naked in Madhya Pradeshās Narmada River.
Hyderabad: A video is circulating on social media showing a group of people physically assaulting a group of naked youths. Those sharing the video claim that the youths were assaulted because they belonged to a lower caste and were bathing in the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh.
Sharing the video (warning: disturbing visuals) on X, a user wrote, āWhen you leave your temple and go to someone elseās temple, you will be beaten up naked. People from the Chamar community in UP, identifying as Hindus, went to bathe in the Ganga and visit the Mahadev temple in Kashi. Thatās when the upper caste people stripped them naked and beat them up. Go ahead and try revisiting the temple.ā (Translated from Hindi)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is from Madhya Pradesh, not Uttar Pradesh and there is no caste angle to the incident.
Upon conducting a reverse image search of the videoās keyframe, we found several video reports published by local YouTube channels (links here, here and here) on September 12, 2024. According to these channels, the video shows youths bathing naked in the Narmada River at Ahilya Ghat, Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh. They were pulled out of the river by locals and beaten.
According to a Dainik Bhaskar report from September 13, 2024, the incident occurred at Ahilya Ghat on the banks of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, where a group of young men were bathing naked. Locals passing by the ghat informed them that their behaviour was inappropriate. The young men, who were reportedly causing a disturbance while bathing, were pulled out of the water and beaten by locals.
The locals alerted the police, but before they could arrive, the youths apologised and fled the scene. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered at the ghat during the incident.
Hence, we conclude that the incident is not from Uttar Pradesh and does not show a caste atrocity. The video shows some men being beaten up for bathing naked and causing a nuisance in Madhya Pradeshās Narmada River. The claim is false.
