Video of Sikh man being beaten up is from Ludhiana, and not Pakistan

[Warning: This viral video is graphic in nature. We request our readers to watch at their own discretion.]

A video of a man in a yellow T-shirt beating another man is circulating widely on social media. It has been claimed that the visuals depict an incident of violence against the Sikh community from Pakistan. Twitter handle ‘@KumarAblesh’ shared the clip with this claim. At the time of writing, it had racked up over 13,800 likes. (Archive link)

पाकिस्तान में सरदार का ये हाल है
और यहां का सरदार मुल्लों के साथ मिलकर खालिस्तान का ख्वाब देख रहा है pic.twitter.com/IVW9DnQiC0

— अबलेश कुमार राष्ट्रवादी TAF 100% फॉलो बैक (@KumarAblesh) March 18, 2022

Another Twitter user promoted the visuals and accompanying claim. (Archive link)

The video is widespread on Facebook and Twitter with the same claim.

Fact-check

Alt News performed a reverse image search using frames from the video. This led us to a tweet carrying the video along with another clip from the same occasion. The user has also mentioned that the incident occurred in Ludhiana.

You’ll be surprised to hear, at-least I was. This video is from Ludhiana, Punjab. https://t.co/Z4Quydk866

— Jas Oberoi | ਜੱਸ ਓਬਰੌਏ (@iJasOberoi) March 5, 2022

 

We performed a Punjabi keyword search using this information and came across a report by Punjabi outlet PTC News dated March 5, 2022. According to the report, the incident is from Ludhiana’s Tibba Road, where a group of people beat a Sikh man. The individuals forcibly removed the man’s turban and also dragged him by his hair. There was uproar among the Sikh community after the footage came to light. The police stated that the victim was beaten as he was caught stealing by his assailants. It is also mentioned here that a case was registered against the group that attacked the man.

TV 7 Punjab had also covered the incident in a video report from March 5.

On March 5, Sikh Sangat News broadcasted a Facebook Live covering the violence. Arvind Chawla from the outlet had also recorded the Livestream. At the 7:28 mark, Ludhiana SI Premchand explains that the incident occurred in Ludhiana in the Tibba Police Station area.

Furthermore, he explains that the man was attacked on March 1. Named Fateh Singh, the man was riding pillion on a motorcycle. A migrant worker (the man in the yellow T-shirt) was drinking tea near the factory area. Fateh then asked the man if he could borrow his phone to make a call, but the migrant worker refused. When the man received a call on his phone and began talking, Fateh snatched it from him and tried to flee. This prompted the young man to attack Fateh. The police revealed that Fateh worked as a delivery boy and was addicted to drugs. They added that he has similarly been charged under a robbery case in the past. Fateh’s condition was said to be stable in the video.

To sum it up, a video of a Sikh man being beaten was falsely circulated online as violence against Sikhs in Pakistan. However, the video has no communal angle to it.