CLAIM
A viral video on social media claims that a Hindu boy was beaten up in West Bengal for hoisting a saffron flag atop his house. The message also says that “the day is not too far when every Hindu is crucified like this boy.”
Several users shared the video on Facebook with the same message.
The Quint also received a query about the claims made about the same video via our WhatsApp helpline.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The video has been shared with a false message. The incident actually took place in March 2018 in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh when a group of miscreants tied a boy to a tree and thrashed him over borrowed money – not for hoisting a saffron flag.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
We did a reverse image search of a screenshot from the video with the keyword, “thrashed”. The visually similar images led us to an ANI report on the incident.
A search on Twitter also took us to ANI’s tweet on the incident on 29 March 2018.
The Indian Express reported the incident in detail. The victim was identified as Shamshad, who had lent Rs 1,500 to Nasir, one of the main accused in the beating. When Nasir failed to return the money, the two quarreled and Shamshad beat up Nasir.
The six accused then tied him to a tree and beat him up with belts and sticks to avenge the earlier beating.
“We have registered a case of dacoity and assault (in the matter). We are now looking for Vikas Yadav, who has a history of crime in the area. He is one of the main accused,” Deoria Superintendent of Police Rohan P Kannay told IE.
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