On March 17, Nagpur in Maharashtra witnessed communal violence following protests by right-wing Hindu organisations demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb. The situation escalated amid allegations that a chadar with Quranic inscriptions was desecrated during the protest, prompting clashes between communities.
The unrest resulted in over 30 injuries, including several police officers and significant property damage. Authorities imposed a curfew in affected areas and arrested more than 105 individuals, including juveniles.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which some police officers are seen thrashing youth. The video is shared with a caption suggesting that the video is from the Nagpur violence and shows police beating the youth who were coming out of the mosque after offering Friday prayers in Nagpur.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Students coming out of Masjid after offering namaz were beaten by police in Nagpur on Monday.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. We found that the viral video is from 2022 in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the same video was uploaded by Maktoob media on April 13, 2022. The video was shared with a caption claiming that policemen attacked Muslim men in Madhya Pradesh following Ram Navami celebrations that turned violent. The description read, “Visuals of police personnel attacking Muslims have been shared with Maktoob from Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone. Critics complain that police are torturing Muslims following Ram Navami celebrations that turned violent.”
On searching with relevant keywords, we found a report published by NewsClick on April 13, 2022. The report suggested that in April 2022, communal clashes erupted in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, during a Ram Navami procession. Authorities registered 26 FIRs, with only one filed by a Muslim complainant, amid allegations of police discouraging Muslim victims from lodging complaints.
We further found that the video was also shared by MP Tak on their YouTube channel on April 15, 2022.
Therefore, we conclude that the viral claim is false.
