(Trigger Warning: Disturbing visuals)
A distressing video showing a police personnel thrashing an elderly man is being shared on the internet to claim that it shows a recent incident from Uttar Pradesh.
What are users claiming?: Those sharing the video have uploaded it with a caption that said, "Uttar Pradesh is heading towards a Jungle Raaj. Just look at how the Police is beating the old Man mercilessly. Mob lynching, Bulldozer on Homes of Innocent Muslims is common in UP now."
You can view an archive of the post here.
(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
What is the truth?: The viral video dates back to July 2022 and reportedly shows a police constable thrashing an elderly man at Jabalpur railway station, Madhya Pradesh.
How did we find out?: Using the help of Google Lens on the keyframes of the viral video, we came across the same visuals uploaded in a report published by NDTV.
It said that a police personnel was spotted kicking an elderly man at Jabalpur railway station in Madhya Pradesh. The incident had raised sharp criticism and outrage.
The report was published on 29 July 2022.
(Source: NDTV/Screenshot)
News reports: As per Times of India (TOI), a departmental enquiry was initiated against a constable who was suspended for thrashing an elderly man in Madhya Pradesh.
The constable was identified as Anant Sharma posted at Lour police station in Rewa.
The report said that the incident happened on platform number 4 and 5 of the railway station.
It further said that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) gave two different versions of the incident.
The GRP officials alleged that the victim was in inebriated state and had passed comments on a woman following which the constable thrashed him.
However, RPF officials said the victim has alleged that when he sought help from the constable after someone was abusing the former, the police personnel started beating the victim.
Conclusion: It is clear that the video is old and not from Uttar Pradesh as claimed.
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