Does This Video Show a BJP Leader Slapping a Bank Manager in Maharashtra? No!

The video actually shows a Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader named 'Mayur Borde' slapping a bank manager.

Fact-Check | The video does not show a BJP leader hitting a bank manager.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video which shows a man slapping a person inside what appears to be a room is going viral on the internet with users identifying the former as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

What are users claiming?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the video with a caption that said, "A BJP leader has the audacity to slap a Public Sector Bank Manager. The Arrogant BJP should soon be taught a lesson."

You can view an archive of the post here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

When this report was being written, the post had garnered over eight lakh views.

(Archives of similar such claims can be found here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: No, the video doesn't show a BJP leader. It actually shows a Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader named Mayur Borde slapping a bank manager.

How did we find that out?: We performed a Google Lens search on different keyframes of the viral video and came across a news report published in ESakal.

• The report, which carried a visual from the viral video, said that a leader of Swabhimani Shetkar Sangathan named Mayur Borde slapped the manager of a bank's branch in Maharashtra's Jafrabad.

• It said that many farmers complained against the bank's Warud branch manager Dhirendra Sonkar and claimed that they were being harassed.

• Following these complaints, Borde reached the branch with the famers on 13 August to talk to the branch manager.

The report was published on 13 August.

(Source: ESakal/Screenshot)

News reports: Indian Express, in its report, said that Borde slapped a bank branch manager in Jalna distrcit of Maharashtra after alleging harassment of farmers.

• The report identified Borde as the youth wing president of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

• It added that Sonkar had filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Borde at the Jafrabad police station.

• We found visuals from the incident available on the official YouTube channel of ABP Majha on 13 August as well.

What did the FIR say?: Team WebQoof accessed a copy of the FIR which was filed by Sonkar at the Jafrabad police station on 13 August.

• In the FIR, Sonkar alleged that around five-six people entered his room in the morning and one of them introduced himself as Mayur Borde, office bearer of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

• When the branch manager asked about Borde, the latter questioned about farmers not being paid money.

• The FIR mentioned that Borde abused and later slapped the branch manager on his ear.

Conclusion: It is clear that the man in the viral video is being misidentified as a BJP leader.

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