Video of a Dalit assaulted and made to drink urine by upper caste men in the name of caste is FALSE

Hyderabad: A video is viral on the social media platforms in which a Dalit is seen tied to a tree, and allegedly, being force-fed from a bottle to drink urine. The video is being widely circulated, especially on Twitter, with the claim that a Dalit was assaulted in Rajasthan by men belonging to upper castes.

The video was shared on a Twitter page named 'The Dalit Voice' with a caption, "Dalit oppression is at a peak in Rajasthan. Some dominate caste mob torturing a Dalit, man tied with rope and forcing to drink urine publicly."

This video was shared by Kush Ambedkarwadi. As per his Twitter bio, he's a social activist who shared the video claiming that Dalit oppression is at a peak in Rajasthan.

Archived claims can be found here and here.

Fact Check:

The video claiming that a Dalit man was force-fed urine by the upper caste men is FALSE.

The man seen in the video was assaulted over an 'illicit affair.' Both the accused and the victim belong to the same community and it's a family dispute.

As per ANI on July 29, 2020, the Superintendent of Police Barmer, Anand Sharma said, "We took cognizance of the video. Upon primary investigation, it was revealed that the matter is related to Chohtan police station and both the victim and the perpetrators were from the same family. The two parties had reached a compromise later on and, therefore, had not lodged a complaint with the police.

We have sent the SHO to the spot. A case will be registered and action will be taken against the culprits. Primary investigations have revealed that the matter is related to an affair with a woman. But we have received no such complaint yet."

According to an article by Hindustan Times on July 31, 2020, police have lodged a complaint taking note of the video which went viral on July 28, against the unnamed accused. They said the man, a resident of Ratanpura village in Chohtan block, was caught illegally entering a house in Konra village on July 25. He was attacked after that, according to the police.

In the video, he can be seen beaten by a mob, his hair was chopped, and they made him drink some liquid. Several social media users claimed that the victim was forced to drink urine but Singh, the investigating officer of the case, said police were yet to verify it.

Singh said the victim and accused belonged to the same community and due to this, the man did not approach the police to lodge a complaint.

The Barmer police dismissed the claim on Twitter which translates as "It has shown in this video that a Dalit was tortured by a dominant caste but in reality, the matter belongs to a family dispute. Police registered a suo moto FIR followed by arresting 6 involved persons".

Hence, the claim shared in this video is FALSE.