Fact Check
In Ambedkar Nagar’s Nasirpur village of Uttar Pradesh, locals installed a BR Ambedkar statue without permission on Ambedkar Jayanti, triggering a clash with authorities. Women protested when police tried to remove it, and hundreds gathered. After nearly nine hours of tension, officials removed the statue and deployed police to maintain order.
In the above context, a video is widely being shared on social media in which police are brutally seen beating women.
The video is shared with a caption that insinuates that it shows police beating women who were protesting against the recent removal of the Ambedkar statue in Uttar Pradesh. The caption shares it as a recent incident.
Indian National Congress, Uttar Pradesh, also shared the video with a caption that reads, “Arrogance of the uniform or intoxication of power? We will not forget the screams of Ambedkar Nagar! The law says that only female police personnel can lay hands on women, but in Uttar Pradesh, a new chapter of ‘lawlessness’ seems to be unfolding. Male police officers are openly beating women with batons. Is a government that swears by the Constitution trying to run its rule by crushing the followers of Babasaheb?” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is misleading. The viral video is from 2022.
On a Google reverse image search, the same video was shared by The Quint on November 7, 2022. The caption associated with the video reads, “Viral Video Shows UP Police Thrashing Women During Protest at Ambedkar Nagar. The police said they were trying to disperse the crowd when the protesters allegedly began pelting stones at them.”
A screenshot of the video was also shared by a website, Two Circles, on November 8, 2022. The reports suggest that the viral video was from Jalalpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, which shows police allegedly beating and abusing Dalit women during a protest over the desecration of a BR Ambedkar statue. Police denied brutality, claiming protesters threw stones and damaged vehicles, prompting “minimal force.” The protest followed the ink being thrown on the statue and a land dispute. Two FIRs were filed—one for vandalism, another for assault on police.
The incident was also reported by The Times of India.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading.
