Video of youth forced to drink urine in Rajasthan viral with false ‘Dalit oppression’ claim

by Kinjal

A video of a man tied to a tree and force-fed from a bottle was shared on social media. Social activist Kush Ambedkarwadi tweeted the video on July 30 claiming that a Dalit youth was forced to drink urine in Rajasthan. He wrote, “राजस्थान में दलित उत्पीड़न चरम पर है। बाढ़मेर में एक दलित समाज के व्यक्ति को खम्बे से बांधकर पेशाब पिलाने की घटना स्तब्ध कर देने वाली है लेकिन न्याय की उम्मीद किससे करें?” As of this writing, the video drew nearly 3 lakh views and over 2,000 retweets.

Twitter handle @ambedkariteIND tweeted the video and similarly wrote, “Some dominate caste mob torturing a dalit, man tied with rope and forcing to drink urine publically.”

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani also shared the video and questioned Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government.

The clip is widely circulating on Twitter and Facebook.

Fact-check

People can be heard speaking in a Rajasthani dialect in the video. We performed a keyword search based on this information and found a Dainik Bhaskar report from July 31, 2020. According to the report, a person was beaten up and tied to a tree on the suspicion of an illicit relationship with a woman in Konar village of Chohtan police station area, ​​Barmer district, Rajasthan. The victim hails from the Bhil caste and is a resident of Mogawan Bakhasar. As per the report, he entered a woman’s house in Ratanpura and stayed the night. When locals in the area learned in the morning, they tied the youth to a tree, beat him up, shaved off his hair and forced him to drink urine. The case did not reach the police as the village panchayat helped both parties reach an agreement. But after a video of the incident went viral on social media, Chohtan police took cognisance of the matter and registered a case against the accused. The report quotes Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ajit Singh who said that both sides hail from the Bhil caste.

Jagran also published a report on the incident on July 31.

We spoke with Barmer SP Sharma who informed that the case does not depict Dalit oppression but a family issue. The youth who was thrashed belongs to the Bhil community (Scheduled Tribes) and the people who attacked him also hail from the same community. Sharma said that this incident is from Chohtan police station area, Barmer district. He was caught with a woman and subsequently beaten up. His hair was also shaved off. SP Sharma said that no complaint was lodged with the police as this was a family issue. But the cops took cognisance of the matter after a video went viral and filed a case. The names of the accused can be seen in the complaint attached below.

After Barmer police noticed that the video was circulating with false context, they clarified on Twitter that the incident was related to a family dispute. The tweet also stated that six people have been arrested so far.

An incident where a youth from the Scheduled Tribes Bhil sub-caste was thrashed by people from his own community was shared on social media with the false claim that a Dalit man was tortured in Rajasthan.

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About the Author

Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.