Fact Check: Truth behind video showing two men being thrashed in an office chamber
A misleading video has gone viral on social media with the claim that a complainant was being beaten up in front of the district magistrate in Haryana and no action was taken.
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India Today Fact Check
The incident took place inside the office of a sub-divisional officer of the electricity department in Haryana’s Munak.
CCTV footage of a few men barging in and thrashing two men inside an office chamber has gone viral with the claim that a complainant was being beaten up in front of a district magistrate in Haryana and no action has been taken.
Several Facebook users have posted the one-minute-36-second video with a claim in Hindi that translates to, “This is the Ram Rajya of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar where a complainant is being beaten up in front of the district magistrate and nobody is doing anything.”
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the incident took place not in a DM’s office, but in the office of a sub-divisional officer (SDO) in Haryana’s Munak village. Three persons were arrested in connection to the incident.
The archived versions of the Facebook posts can be seen here and here. Multiple Facebook users have shared the post.
We found that the incident was reported by multiple news websites on July 23, 2020, when the CCTV footage went viral on social media.
According to news reports, a power line was being laid at Gagsina village in Haryana’s Karnal district.
Some villagers went to the SDO of Munak electricity department with the complaint that the line that was being laid passed under their farmland. The SDO took the matter into consideration and informed the contractor that the plan was incorrect and asked him to change it. But while they were discussing the matter, five people entered the SDO’s office and started thrashing the villagers.
As per the in-charge of Gharaunda police station, three men were arrested and a case was registered against five for an incident of violence at Munak electricity department. Hence, the brawl caught on camera, wherein two men were being thrashed inside an office, took place in an SDO’s chamber in Haryana and not in a DM’s office.
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