A video showing police personnel lathi-charging a group of people, with one officer seen falling while chasing a fleeing man, has gone viral on social media.
Many social media users are claiming it shows the individuals accused of attacking Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Tripura being beaten up by police in retaliation.
The footage has been shared widely on social media platforms amid heightened attention on the November 2 incident in Tripura’s Sepahijala district, where four BSF personnel were assaulted during an anti-smuggling drive.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “BSF personnel on duty were attacked in Tripura, with an attempt to snatch their weapon Within 24 hours, the police took action and arrested several accused. The question is: when security forces are attacked, where do those who speak of “human rights” disappear to? According to reports, three BSF personnel were injured, an FIR was registered after the attack, and the police arrested eight to nine people; the investigation is ongoing.”
SouthCheck found the claim to be false. The viral video is from a garment workers’ protest in Bangladesh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found the Facebook page of Bangladeshi news channel BDLive.com24 on November 1.
The video contains scenes from the viral clip with a caption that reads, “Police member fell while chasing a worker in a race to catch him in clothes.”
Using this information, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the incident was also reported by Bangladeshi news portal BanglaStream.com on November 1.
In the report, we can see a screenshot where the same man can be seen being taken into police custody, as seen in the viral video. According to the report, two people were arrested Sunday (November 1) for torching a police vehicle during a garment workers' protest in Dhaka's Mirpur. Police said photos and videos of the arson were found on their phones. Workers demanding a Tk 30,000 minimum wage blocked Mirpur-10 from 8 am; clashes broke out around 11:15 am, with police using sound grenades, tear gas and water cannons. Mirpur-10, 11 and Pallabi metro stations were closed temporarily. The government formed a six-member wage board.
The incident was also reported by Dhaka Tribune.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
