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| - A disturbing video showing a woman being brutally beaten by a mob of men is being shared on social media platforms.
The claim: Those sharing have claimed that a Hindu woman was publicly attacked by Muslim men in West Bengal in the presence of police.
(Note: We have refrained from adding archives or links to the video due to its disturbing nature.)
Is this true?: No, the claim is false.
The Superintendent of Police of Barasat, Pratiksha Jhakhariya, told The Quint that the mob beat the woman over suspicion of child abduction. She denied any links to a communal angle.
What we found: Upon examining the video, we noticed the police van's tag, which read, "Barasat Police."
We ran a relevant keyword search and found a news report by ABP Bangla from 19 July. The report included the viral video.
The report stated that a woman was beaten up in front of the police over rumours of child abduction.
To verify further, we contacted the SP of Barasat, who narrated how the misinformation spread.
This incident of the mob beating the woman is from 19 June.
What happened?: In the area, a child was murdered, and three days later, the body was discovered. The child's uncle only killed him, and to hide his deeds, he started a rumour saying that there is child abduction and trafficking were happening in the district.
Day of the incident: The woman was physically assaulted outside the Central Modern School when she woman had come to drop off her child and was doing some work when the mob attacked her. This victim was not a known face in the area as her house was elsewhere. The police then went to rescue her.
The police have arrested 40 people and the woman has been identified as Meherabanu Bibi.
We have registered three cases and arrested forty-plus people. We have written to X and Facebook. This is an old video and a communal angle has been given to it that a Hindu woman was beaten by Muslims. The mob included people from both the Hindu and Muslim communities. The woman, her name is Meherabanu Bibi. Some propaganda pages on social media have added the communal link.Pratiksha Jhakhariya, Superintendent of Police, Barasat
Action Taken: The police arrested the accused under the following sections of the Indian Penal Code (since the incident happened before 1 July, cases were registered under the IPC):
341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint)
323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt)
354 (Any man who assaults or criminally forces any woman or abets with the intention of disrobing or forcing her to be naked)
186 (voluntarily standing in the way of a public servant during their duties)
188 (disobedience causing danger to human life)
307 (attempt to murder)
332 (voluntarily causing hurt to a public servant while they are discharging their duties)
333 (voluntarily causes grievous hurt to any public servant on duty)
506 (criminal intimidation)
509 (modesty of women)
34 (acts committed by several people to push common purpose)
These were read along with the Section 3 in the Prevention Of Damage To Public Property Act, 1984 that is, mischief causing damage to public property
According to the police, the arrested accused included men from Hindu and Muslim community, while the victim was from the Muslim community, which dismisses the viral claim.
Conclusion: The viral video is being shared with a false communal claim.
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