A video is being widely shared on social media in which a man is being forced to lick shoes after which he is physically assaulted.
Those sharing the video claim that the man in the video is a Dalit being bullied by upper caste members in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareili.
A social media user shared the video with the caption, “Dalit youth was beaten with a shoe in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh and the video has gone viral. Just think what a rotten society this is. Inhuman act.”) (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim was false. We found that persons involved in the incident belong to the same caste.
Reacting to an X post (now deleted) about the incident, the Raebareli Police handle tweeted stating that the incident took place on August 21, 2024. They stated: “Both the plaintiff and the defendant belong to the general caste. Necessary preventive action has been taken by the Unchahar police station.” They also said that both parties are ‘persons of criminal nature.’
We found more details about the incident in news reports by searching with relevant keywords.
A report published by Punjab Kesari on September 19, 2024, stated that the victim’s name was Aman Singh who was abducted and taken into the jungle where he was beaten and forced to lick shoes. The story also had screenshots of the video.
Dainik Jagran also reported the incident. According to the report published on September 19, 2024, the incident happened in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. The victim Aman Singh was returning home on his bike when he was hit by a car. Then the people in the car dragged him at gunpoint and made him sit in the car. He was kidnapped and taken to a deserted place where he was assaulted with kicks and sticks and made to lick shoes.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
