Following the victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab, social media is rife with several types of claims targeting the party. Against this backdrop, a video is being widely shared in which some people wearing turbans are seen beating up a Naga Sadhu. It is being claimed that atrocities on Hindus have begun in Punjab after the AAP’s election win in the state. Facebook user Ramesh Dalwani posted this video with the same claim. (Archive link)
Horror started on Hindus by the supporters ofJihadi AAP team.
Posted by Ramesh Dalavai on Sunday, March 13, 2022
Several others on Facebook also posted the video targeting the Aam Aadmi Party.
One Twitter user also promoted the video. However, the tweet did not mention AAP.
Horror started on Hindus Sadhu by the supporters of Jihadi *AAP & Khalistan* pic.twitter.com/OjeHDBBTiK
— हिन्दू स्वाभिमान_KRT🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 (@subashk41062196) March 19, 2022
Fact-check
Alt News performed a keyword search on YouTube, which led us to a video that had been posted in 2017. However, it did not contain any additional information about the incident.
Upon further research, we found a report by the Daily Mail dated August 6, 2014, carrying the video. It is mentioned here that a video of a group of Sikh men beating up a sadhu was posted online. It is worth noting that in 2014, a coalition between the Akali Dal and the BJP was ruling in Punjab, with Parkash Singh Badal serving as the chief minister.
A website called Singh Station also covered the incident in an article dated July 13, 2014. It is mentioned here that a Naga Sadhu was thrashed by people belonging to some Sikh community on the Phagwara National Highway because he was not wearing clothes. A bystander recorded a video of this and posted it online. Following this, a Hindu organization from the city of Nakodar staged a protest objecting to the incident. The police reached the protest site and recorded Mohalla Ramauta resident Sunny Dhir’s statement, registering a case against three unidentified individuals.
To sum it up, a 2014 video of a group of Sikh men attacking a Naga sadhu was falsely circulated as visuals of atrocities against Hindus in Punjab after the Aam Aadmi Party’s win in the state elections.
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