Fact Check: Video of domestic violence falsely shared as caste abuse incident in Rajasthan

A disturbing video depicting the harassment of a woman is circulating on social media. Claims accompanying the video suggest that it shows a Dalit woman being raped by upper-caste people in Rajasthan. (Note: We are not including the video in the story due to its graphic content).

“In Rajasthan, these upper caste criminals entered the house of a Dalit woman and raped her. Why are these savage beasts so eager to devour only the unarmed women of the lower caste?” wrote an X user who shared the video.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video shows the harassment of a tribal woman by her husband in Rajasthan.

While skimming through the replies to the viral video posted on X, we found a user pointing out that the video is old and the person seen in the video is a woman’s husband. He also shared the link to an NDTV report that features screenshots from the same video as evidence

As per the report published on September 5, the police have confirmed that the 21-year-old tribal woman was allegedly stripped naked and paraded by her husband in a village in the Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan. It also mentioned that the woman was pregnant, and the National Human Rights Commission has sent a notice to the Rajasthan government and the state’s police chief seeking an answer about the health status of the woman and compensation.

A report by The Hindu from September 2 said that seven people were arrested and four others detained in this case. According to the report, in a statement, DGP Umesh Mishra said the woman lodged a complaint against her husband Kanha Gameti, along with five others for forcibly taking her on a motorcycle and parading her naked. Ten people have been named in the FIR for molestation, thrashing the woman besides other relevant sections.

As per a report by the News Nation published on September 2, the then Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had met the victim in the presence of her parents at a guest house. The report mentioned that the CM had said that the incident happened due to disputes between the maternal and in-law family. He had also announced a government job and financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the victim

Hence, it is clear that the incident is related to domestic abuse, and the claim of the woman being raped by upper-caste men is false.