Bhupendra Jogi, a man who rose to fame following a humorous interview that turned into a meme, was allegedly attacked by two masked assailants in Bhopal on May 7. According to Jogi’s account, he was closing his shop and heading home when the miscreants attacked him with a knife. He claimed that while defending himself, he sustained serious injuries to his hands and had to undergo around 40 stitches.
Right-Wing influencers and propaganda websites shared this news, linking it to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
Propaganda outlet OpIndia published reports in both Hindi and English, stating, “Trolled after mocking Dhruv Rathee in a reel, now attacked with a knife: Influencer Bhupendra Jogi gets 37 stitches, assailants unknown.”
Another Right Wing troll account, @total_woke_, shared this news, claiming that Instagram influencer Bhupendra Jogi was attacked after he had made a reel mocking Dhruv Rathee.
Right Wing account Trunicle also shared this news, making a similar claim.
Known for amplifying communal and fake news frequently, BJP supporter Sunanda Roy also amplified news of the incident, linking it to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
Fact Check
To find out more information on the alleged assault, we looked at multiple news reports. We found an article published on May 11 on the Nai Dunia website covering this incident. According to the report, based on the complaint of clothing merchant Bhupendra Jogi, Bhopal police had arrested three people in an attempted murder case. The police stated that the arrested suspects had offered a reward of Rs 50,000 to an individual to carry out the attack in a matter of personal enmity. It added that the assailants who had carried out the attack were still at large and efforts were underway to apprehend them.
Police revealed that around 9:30 pm on May 7, when Bhupendra Jogi was closing his shop and heading home, two assailants on a scooter attacked him with a knife. Upon reviewing CCTV footage from nearby areas, police found that shortly before the incident, three to four youths were seen near New Market Cooperative Bank. Based on suspicion, the police arrested Deepansh Yogi, Shailendra Yogi, and Sumit Jogi, who had past criminal record. During interrogation, police learned that one of the accused had a longstanding enmity with Bhupendra Jogi. Consequently, he admitted to offering a sum of Rs 50,000 to carry out the attack. More information related to this incident and the police statement can also be found on the Times of India website.
We contacted the Arera Hills police station in Bhopal for further details. The police officer shared a press release related to this case, which contained all the relevant information. According to the statement, the mastermind of the attack had a grudge against the complainant (Jogi) for a ‘galat tippani’ (verbal insult) in the past.
The Arera Hills Police also shared images of the suspects, including Deepansh Yogi, Shailendra Yogi, Sumit Jogi, and the Pulsar motorcycle with registration number MP04VC6673 used in the incident.
To sum it up, the attack on Bhupendra Jogi was related to a matter of personal enmity, and it has no connection to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. Several Right Wing influencers and propaganda outlets falsely linked the news of this incident to Dhruv Rathee.
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