Video from Gujarat shared as upper caste men in UP assault Dalit woman for drawing water from well

A disturbing video of three men brutally assaulting a woman with sticks and pulling her by her hair was shared on social media. A message in Tamil claims that upper-castes beat up a Dalit woman for drinking water from a public well.

[Warning: Violent and disturbing content. Viewer discretion is advised.]

மோடி ஆசீர்வாதத்தால் ஆட்சி நடக்கும் உத்திரபிரதேசத்தில் யோகியின் யோகிதை ஆட்சியில் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட பெண் பொதுக் கிணற்றில் குடிநீர் எடுத்ததாக கூறி அந்தப் பெண்ணை பெண்ணென்றும் பாராமல் ஆதிக்க நாய்கள் அவர்கள் செய்யும் அநியாயத்தை பாருங்கள். #bjpagainstdalith #bjpagainstnation pic.twitter.com/dtSmv77SGi

— 𑀫𑀼𑀢𑁆𑀢𑀫𑀺𑀵𑁆_செல்வன் (@Raja_Muthamil) October 4, 2020

The clip has also been shared on Facebook.

Akali Dal member Manjinder S Sirsa had tweeted the video earlier in June. He wrote (archive), “I don’t know if the mistreatment of the Dalit woman is due to water or something else…I urge @Uppolice to investigate & to strong action against culprits.”

मुझे ये वीडियो Whatsapp पर Fwd हुआ

मैं नही जानता इस वीडियो मे दलित औरत के साथ जो बदसलूकी हो रही है वो पानी करके है या किसी और कारण से!

पर कोई भी कारण किसी भी इंसान को इस तरह का दुर्व्यवहार करने का हक नहीं देता
I urge @Uppolice to investigate & to strong action against culprits pic.twitter.com/geTSFz49IV

— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) June 7, 2020

The same video had also been shared with a caption in Telugu — “In Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit woman has been brutally beaten for drinking water from a well belonging to the upper caste people. (ఈ ఘోరం ఏమిటి? దీన్ని అపేదెవరు? ఉత్తర ప్రదేశ్ లో దళిత మహిళ అగ్ర వర్ణాల కు చెందినవారి బావిలో త్రాగునీరు తోడుకున్నందుకు వారని అమానవీయంగా కొడుతున్నారు. త్రాగు నీరు తోడు కోవడమే నేరమా?”)

The clip was also circulating on WhatsApp.

Fact-check

This incident is not from Uttar Pradesh but took place in a region bordering Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. A reverse image search of a frame of the video led to a few news reports. An article from One India dated May 27, 2020, said, “This case of a minor girl beaten is from tribal areas where punishments are brutal. She was brutally beaten for being in an illicit relationship.” A Punjab Kesari report from May 28 says, “A 16-year-old tribal girl was brutally beaten up by three men in front of her father and villagers when she went with a boy to a village in Chhota Udaipur in Gujarat.” The Daily Mail also reported the incident on May 28.

According to Dainik Jagran’s May 27 report, “PI Vasava of Rangpur police station reported that 17-year-old teenager, living with her aunt in Kolbokadia village, was in love with a young man from the village. Both of them used to meet in secret. A few days ago, they ran away from home. When the girl’s uncle and other family members living in Bhilwant village found out, they began searching for her. On Thursday, the teenager was discovered in a village in Madhya Pradesh and was brought to Bhilwant village where was tied with a rope. After this, the villagers took the teenager outside the village and beat her brutally with sticks. The accused also pulled the teenager’s hair and clothes. When the victim’s father came to the rescue, he was also brutally beaten. Following a complaint, the police arrested around 15 people from Bhilwand village.”

UP Superintendent of Police (SP) Sonbhadra issued a statement and said that the video has no relation with UP.

Therefore, a video of a girl beaten in a village in Gujarat for eloping with a boy was shared with the false claim that a Dalit woman was beaten in Uttar Pradesh for drawing water from a well used by upper-caste villagers.

[Update: This video was revived in October 2020 against the backdrop of the alleged rape of a Dalit woman in UP’s Hathras by four upper-caste men.]