A video showing a man being thrashed by a mob is being shared as an attack on Union Minister for Health and Family welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan.
The video being shared as attack of ‘landlords’ on the BJP MP, is actually from 2016, when a local BJP leader, who was a part of Babul Supriyo’s convoy, was beaten up in Asansol, allegedly by TMC workers.
CLAIM
The video is being shared with a claim, in Punjabi, that read:
“ਲਓ ਭਰਾਵੋ ਕੰਮ ਚਲ ਪਿਆ ਜੁੱਤੀਆਂ ਦਾ BJP ਸੰਸਦ ਹਰਸ਼ਵਰਧਨ ਦੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰਤੀ ਜ਼ਿਮੀਂਦਾਰਾ ਨੇਂ”
(Translation: Take it, brothers, the work has started. The landlords serving shoes to BJP MP Harsh Vardhan.)
The video is also viral on Facebook with the same claim.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We noticed that the policemen in the video were wearing white uniforms, which is usually seen in West Bengal.
We then did a keyword search using ‘mob attacks on BJP leaders in West Bengal’ which led us to a NDTV report from 20 October 2016, carrying the same video.
The report states that BJP leader Supriyo’s convoy was attacked, allegedly by TMC workers, for questioning cow herders. A brick was also thrown at Supriyo, who alleged that police officers did nothing to stop the violence.
The man being beaten up by the mob has been identified as local party leader Subrata Mishra.
The news was widely reported by news outlets like ABP, Scroll and Indian Express.
News agency ANI had also tweeted pictures from the incident, which are similar to the viral video.
Evidently, an old video of an attack on a local BJP leader from West Bengal is being falsely shared as a recent attack on Dr Harsh Vardhan.
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