Were People Brought to Kolkata Oppn Rally At Gunpoint by TMC Men?
In the video, a masked man can be seen pointing a gun at people, mostly women, making them walk in a line.
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CLAIM
After the mega rally in Kolkata on Saturday, 19 January, which was organised by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, made buzz in the political spectrum, the flutter of fake news was not far away.
A few days after the mega Opposition rally took place, a video started circulating on social media claiming that Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers brandished guns to threaten people into attending the rally in Kolkata.
In the video, a masked man can be seen pointing a gun at people, mostly women, making them walk in a line. The small crowd can be seen carrying flags of TMC and walking in a line towards a certain location.
The video was shared on Facebook, among other social media platforms, with a caption, "People brought for mamata banerjees rally in kolkata yesterday (19 January)."
TRUE OR FALSE?
No, people were not brought to Kolkata's mega Opposition rally at gunpoint by TMC workers. However, the incident shown in the video was true and was actually reported by India Today's Indrajit Kundu in April 2018, when West Bengal was engulfed in violence during the nominations of the Panchayat Polls.
Many reports of violence across the state were making the headlines and this particular incident was reported from Bankura's Sonamukhi. According to India Today's report, "In Bankura, masked men could be seen openly brandishing pistols in Sonamukhi in an attempt to intimidate locals."
Indrajit Kundu, Principal Correspondent at India Today, who reported on the violence during the Panchayat elections in April 2018, was also on ground from Kolkata's mega rally on 19 January. Kundu told The Quint that this time, there were no reports of people being paid or intimidated to attend the rally.
Bengal Panchayat Polls Violence
At least 12 people died and scores of others sustained injuries in violence that broke out at several places in West Bengal, hours after voting began for Panchayat polls in 20 districts in May 2018.
The BJP and CPI(M) have accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of allowing the violence to spread across the state.
Violence were reported from Cooch behar, Bhangar, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad districts in the state.
(With inputs from India Today.)
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