Image of rape-accused from Gujarat viral as a farmer beaten up by Rajasthan police

“राजस्थान में एक गरीब किसान द्वारा बैंक के कर्जे ना चुकता कर पाने पर सरेआम रस्सियों से बाँध कर पीटती हुई पुलिस…” (A poor farmer in Rajasthan was tied with ropes and beaten in public by the police after he was unable to repay his bank loan.) (Translation) Accompanying these words an image posted on June 1, 2018, by a Facebook page ‘I Support Ravish Kumar’. The image shows a policeman beating an elderly man with a stick. The man is tied with ropes. At the time this article was written, the post was shared more than 25,000 times from the page that has more than 9 lakh followers.

Several other pages and individual users have shared this image. A Facebook user named Pradeep Bhattacharya posted the picture on his timeline on May 30 and it received more 9,000 shares. However, he credited the photo to one Anil Maurya. A page named ‘Bhakto ka baap Ravish Kumar’ had also shared the post with its 1 lakh followers on May 30. It was shared more than 1,000 times. Another Facebook page named ‘Haryana ki baat’ with nearly 1 lakh followers circulated the image as well.

The post is also shared on Twitter, with the caption: “A farmer in Rajasthan being strapped, held captive and beaten in public by police for his inability to repay Rs 1,000 loan. Where’s justice?”

A farmer in Rajasthan being strapped, held captive & beaten in public by police for his inability to repay Rs 1,000 loan..Where’s Justice? pic.twitter.com/qsoc2JpPk1

— Comrade Rahel (@Surabhi54775588) May 30, 2018

Is there any truth to the post?

Using Google reverse image search option, Alt News found that the image is from 2016 and has no link to either Rajasthan or farmers. The image is of an incident that took place in Rajkot, Gujarat. The elderly man in the picture was tied and beaten by the policeman because he was accused of raping his daughter-in-law. In a report by Hindustan Times, dated April 10, 2016, the same image can be seen. Alt News does not endorse such unconstitutional mechanisms of dealing with alleged criminals, however the report below proves that the incident occurred in 2016 and has no relation to what is being claimed on social media.

Alt News had earlier reported when ‘I Support Ravish Kumar’ page posted a fake quote, which can be read here.

A video demonstration of the fact-check can be seen below.

It is true that the India is going through a period of agricultural crisis and the cases of farmer suicides continue across the length and breadth of the country. Farmer organisations in many parts of India have also taken out protests against government policies, both state and centre. Consequently, there are more than enough pictures which represent the current plight of farmers in India. However, using a photo of an unrelated incident and placing it out of context is unacceptable.