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| - Fact Check: Was this old man thrashed for performing 'aarti' at his house in West Bengal?
With the first phase of assembly elections in West Bengal barely days away, a video of an old man in torn clothes being thrashed by a mob is circulating on social media. It is being claimed that the man was beaten up in front of his daughter for performing 'aarti' at his home in Bengal. India Today's AFWA probes the truth.
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India Today Fact Check
The man, a Hindu priest, had allegedly molested a girl after which her family members thrashed him. The incident took place in 2017 in Kolkata.
With the first phase of assembly elections in West Bengal barely days away, a video of an old man in torn clothes being thrashed by a mob is circulating on social media. It is being claimed that the man was beaten up in front of his daughter for performing ‘aarti’ at his home in Bengal.
The Hindi caption along with the video translates to, “Performing puja at home is dangerous in Bengal. An old Hindu man was dragged in front of his daughter and thrashed in the middle of the road for performing ‘aarti’ at his own house”
#___ , , , , , @BJP4India@AmitShah @narendramodi @BJP4Bengall pic.twitter.com/6XKWZjcTCk
— Nationalist (@shaantinath) March 18, 2021
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The man, a Hindu priest, was beaten up for allegedly molesting a girl in Kolkata.
The video with similar claims is also circulating on Facebook. The archived version of the post can be seen here
AFWA investigation
We found that the same video was circulated in September 2017 as well with the claim that Muslims thrashed a Hindu Brahmin in Bengal because the sound of his puja bells disturbed them. At that time, Kolkata Police had debunked the claim.
Replying to fact-check website “SMHoaxSlayer”, Kolkata Police, in a series of tweets, revealed the truth behind the video.
This is a wrong and mischievous post. This priest was manhandled by the family members of the victim girl where he allegedly molested her. 1
— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) September 23, 2017
FIR was registered vide no.P3-205 dated 31.08. 17,u/s 354/509 IPC and counter FIR was registered against people who assaulted the priest (2)
— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) September 23, 2017
vide no P3 Case no 206dated 31.08. 17 u/s 34/323/341IPC.Legal action is being initiated against all the people spreading communal hatred.3
— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) September 23, 2017
Police said the video was being shared with mischievous claims as the priest had allegedly molested a girl after which he was manhandled by her family members. Kolkata Police also mentioned the FIR numbers registered in the case. The FIRs were registered on August 31, 2017, against the priest and the people who assaulted him.
On September 3, 2017, news portal “S K M 91 News” posted a video of the incident on Facebook, saying a resident of Kolkata’s Goa Bagan area, Rajendra Pandit, was beaten up by the public because he passed lewd comments at a woman.
It is also heard in the video that people are calling the priest “Market Mein Naya Ram Rahim”, referring to self-styled Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim who was convicted in a rape case in August 2017.
Some other videos of the accused priest are also available on YouTube, showing him being manhandled. Here too, the title says that the incident is from Kolkata’s Goa Bagan area.
ALSO READ: Fact Check: Yes, Gajendra Chauhan did tweet in support of man who thrashed Muslim boy in Ghaziabad
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