Video of woman thrashing BJP councillor placed out of context on social media

by Kinjal

In the first week of August, a video of a woman beating up a cab driver in the middle of the road in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh had gained prominence. Both the cab driver and the woman filed complaints. The woman alleged that she was being harassed by commuters and was scared for her safety. The video of the incident, which shows the woman mercilessly slapping the driver who does not retaliate, sparked massive outrage. People demanded the woman’s arrest on social media.

Against this backdrop, a video of another incident where a woman in a sari is beating a man with a stick was shared. In the second half of the video, the man retaliates and thrashes the woman. The accompanying message states that not every man is like the Lucknow cab driver.

The video is widespread on Facebook and Twitter.

Fact-check

Replying to a viral tweet, Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair tweeted a newspaper clipping from Dainik Bhaskar dated August 24. The report states that in the Simga area of Chhattisgarh’s Baloda Bazar, a BJP councillor had attempted to coerce a woman into having a physical relationship with him. Angered by his advances, the woman had thrashed the politician.

According to Navbharat Times, BJP councillor Suryakant Tamrakar offered to have sex with his friend’s wife. A few weeks before the incident depicted in the viral video, Tamrakar had come to his friend’s house and asked his wife to enter into a physical relationship with him. Enraged, the woman beat up the BJP councillor with slippers. She also reprimanded her husband who was asking her to stop.

A few days later, Tamrakar began harassing her via text messages. She went to his shop and beat him and his friend up with a stick. The men retaliated by mercilessly thrashing the woman.

Simga police was notified about this whole incident soon after. The woman had filed a complaint against the BJP councillor and his friend. The police arrested his friend while Tamrakar is reportedly absconding.

The incident was reported by Patrika, Amar Ujala and Dainik Bhaskar.

Alt News reached out to the SHO of Simga police station for more information. He told us that BJP councillor Suryakant Tamrakar had harassed the woman while soliciting a physical relationship. The woman had earlier beaten him up in her house. When the video of this scuffle went viral on social media, she visited his shop and thrashed the councillor once again. But this time, he retaliated. A complaint was registered following which Tamrakar’s friend was arrested. Tamrakar is still at large.

A video of a woman who beat up a BJP councillor for making sexual advances at her was shared out of context. Social media claims hailed the councillor who thrashed the woman in retaliation while making references to the ‘Lucknow cab driver’.

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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.