A one and a half minute long video has recently gone viral on social media. The clip shows some people who appear to be Muslims beating a man in a khaki uniform. In the clip, some people are heard saying that this man is drunk. Social media users are claiming that the visuals show Muslims in Hyderabad’s Old City assaulting a policeman. Facebook page ‘రాజశేఖర్ కట్టర్ హిందూ’ posted this video with the accompanying claim. (Archive link)
A Facebook page called ‘BJP Mahender Chowkidhar’ also posted this video. (Archive link)
ఓల్డ్ సిటీలో ఇప్పుడు పోలీసుల పరిస్థితి ఇది. తరువాత హిందువుల పరిస్థితి ఏంటిది
Posted by BJP Mahender Chowkidhar on Thursday, December 3, 2020
The clip is being circulated on several Facebook groups. Netizens are also using it to target the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
Fact-check
We performed a keyword search and found this clip in a Dainik Bhaskar report dated November 13, 2020. The report mentions that the incident occurred at the Ajmer Dargah market. The person who was beaten has been identified as a Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) jawan. Navbharat Times also published a report on the incident.
Alt News reached out to Ajmer SP Kunwar Rashtradeep for more information. “The investigation is still going on in this case. There is prima facie evidence that the man who was being beaten in the video was an RAC jawan who was drunk at the time. He had misbehaved with a Zayarin (a female Hajj pilgrim), which angered people and prompted the violence. The RAC jawan was found to be at fault here and has been suspended. His assailants filed a complaint against the jawan. At the same time, he also filed a complaint against them alleging assault. The investigation is ongoing in both cases. The fact that the RAC jawan was drunk was found to be credible to some extent, due to which he has been suspended,” said Rashtradeep. The SP further stated that the incident did not have communal overtones.
Therefore, a video of an RAC jawan beaten after he allegedly misbehaved with a female Haj pilgrim at Rajasthan’s Ajmer Dargah was shared on social media with false communal claims. The clip was circulated to target the TRS as it was falsely claimed to have occurred in Hyderabad.
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