A circular was issued on May 13 by the West Bengal Home & Hill Affairs Department under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950.
The circular mandated veterinary fitness certificates for cattle slaughter and banned public slaughter outside authorised municipal facilities. This led to tension in West Bengal. However, amid tensions ahead of Bakrid in West Bengal, Muslim clerics and community leaders in Kolkata urged devotees to follow government rules on animal sacrifice after the BJP-led state government reiterated restrictions on cattle slaughter.
In the above context, a video showing security personnel in riot gear lathi-charging a crowd has gone viral on social media. The text embedded in the clip claims it shows Hindu cattle sellers protesting the BJP government in West Bengal after Muslims in the state boycotted beef purchases.
The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Muslims boycott beef due to atrocities by BJP-RSS goons. After Bengali-Muslims boycott beef, Hindu cattle sellers protest against the BJP Govt, and the Hindutvavadi Govt lathicharges Hindu cattle sellers! VIDEO SHOWS CENTRAL FORCES PELTING STONES AT HINDU WOMEN. West Bengal. (sic)”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and shows a protest by Tipra Motha supporters ahead of the Zilla Parishad elections in Kamalpur in Tripura.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Facebook user on April 2, with a caption that reads, “Narendra Modi’s double engine in Tripura BJP MLAs’ cars vandalised near Tipra Motha, alliance partner BJP police chase Tipra Motha workers, Lambu area of Komalpur is agitated!! BJP first manage their own state and then think of Bengal! Comments.”
This suggests that the viral video predates the circular by the West Bengal government. Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is old.
We further found that the same video was also shared by an Instagram page on April 1, with a caption that reads, “On Wednesday, while campaigning in the Halahali-Asarambari ADC constituency, MLA Manoj Deb and candidate Ananta Debbarma, along with police and TSR personnel, fell victim to an attack in the Lambu area."
Using this information, we searched with relevant keywords and found multiple news reports confirming the incident took place on April 1, in Tripura’s Dhalai district. According to the report by India Today North East, the attack occurred in the Lambu area of Kamalpur when Tipra Motha party supporters disrupted the campaign of BJP MLA Manoj Kanti Deb and party candidate Ananta Debbarma.
Another report by Northeast Live TV confirmed that the violence broke out after Tipra Motha activists staged a road blockade in West Lambuchhara, leading to a confrontation that soon turned violent. The injured included a Sub-Divisional Police Officer, a woman constable, and at least 12 TSR personnel.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
