Fact-Check: Viral Video Showing Priests Being Assaulted Is Not From Punjab

The incident took place in Rajasthan over a month ago when the men in saffron tried to extort money from the people

The video showing some men dressed in saffron clothing being beaten is being shared as one from Punjab. However, the video is from Rajasthan. 

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

A video showing three people dressed in saffron clothes getting beaten up by some men is going viral on social media platforms as a recent incident from Punjab.

What is the claim?: The viral video is being shared as one from Punjab, claiming that Hindus are ill-treated in non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) states, holding the state's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government responsible.

• The claim said that the incident in the video is a reminder of the 2020 Palghar lynching in Maharashtra, where three men were lynched on suspicion of being robbers.

(Note: The videos in the links below may be distressing to some. Viewer’s discretion is advised.)

An archive of the claim can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot) 

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

What is the truth?: The video is from Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

• The incident took place when the three people dressed in saffron clothing tried to extort money from a shop in Suratgarh.

• The Quint contacted the SHO of the Sadar Police Station in Suratgarh, who confirmed that the incident was from Rajasthan and happened a month ago.

How did we find out?: We used InVid to get the keyframes of the video and ran a reverse image search on them.

• We zoomed into a particular frame where the car number plate had Rajasthan's code.

The car's number plate had Rajasthan's code. 

(Source: Facebook/Altered by The Quint)

• Using the keywords, "Rajasthan Sadhu Violence," we found a news report by Navbharat Times Hindi. Its cover image resembled the viral video.

• The report mentioned that the incident took place at a shop near Paliwal Bus Stop in Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

• It added that the shopkeepers got into a brawl with the sages after they continued to demand money for over three days.

The report was published on 8 June. 

(Source: Navbharat Times Hindi/Screenshot) 

What did the police say?: The Quint also spoke to the Station House Officer (SHO) Subhash Chandra at the Sadar Police Station in Suratgarh.

• He told us that the incident took place about a month ago. "The shopkeepers were questioned after the fight broke out," he said.

• The SHO also said, "The sadhus also threatened the shopkeepers that they would die if the money was not given to them."

• He further said, "We don't know about the sadhus. The shopkeepers told us that they kept demanding 11,000 rupees for three days after which the sadhus were beaten up by the shopkeepers."

Conclusion: The claim is misleading on two grounds. Firstly, the incident took place in Rajasthan and not Punjab. Secondly, the sadhus were not being ill-treated because of their religion, rather, their encounter with the shopkeepers that led to the brawl.

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