A video which shows police personnel beating several people with sticks is going viral on the internet with users claiming that it shows police in West Bengal recently 'thrashing' kanwariyas.
What have users said?: Social media users shared the video with a caption that said, "Love showered on Kanwariyas in Bengal as per the orders of Mamata government."
We received multiple queries about the video on our WhatsApp tipline. Archives of similar other claims can be viewed here, here, and here.
What is the truth?: The video could be traced back to August 2021 and is being shared with a misleading context.
It reportedly shows police personnel beating devotees of Lord Shiva gathered outside Bhootnath Temple in West Bengal which was closed to public at that time due to COVID-19.
How did we find out?: On performing a keyword search in Hindi, we came across a report published on TV9 Hindi in August 2021.
The report carried similar visuals as the viral video.
Its headline mentioned that police personnel were seen thrashing Shiva devotees outside the Bhootnath Temple in West Bengal.
The report said that although other temples have opened in the state, Bhootnath Temple is still closed to public.
It further said that people from different places come to the temple for worship. Since it was closed, people gathered outside the temple to offer prayers.
A report published in Dainik Bhaskar added that after the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all temples in the state were opened except the Bhootnath Temple.
It also carried a tweet posted by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader named Ritesh Tiwari who criticised the police and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
BJP Bengal's official Twitter handle had also posted the same video critising the government over the incident.
Conclusion: It is clear that the video is old and is being shared with a misleading context on social media platforms.
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