This Video of Punjab Police Personnel Slapping an Elderly Woman Is Not Recent

The incident is from May 2023, when farmers were protesting against the acquisition of their lands.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being incorrectly shared as a recent one.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a police personnel slapping an elderly woman is being circulated on social media platforms as a recent incident from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruled Punjab.

What have users said?: Taking a dig at the AAP government, the post's caption said, "AAP's Punjab Government leaving no stone unturned in service of the farmers community."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The post had gained over four thousand views on the platform. You can view archives of similar such claims here, here, and here.

What is the truth?: While the viral clip is indeed from Punjab, the incident dates back to May 2023 when a police personnel slapped an elderly woman when farmers were protesting against the acquisition of land.

How did we find that out?: On performing a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral clip, we found similar visuals published in a news report by The Indian Express on 18 May 2023.

• The report said that a clip showing a police officer slapping a woman farmer in Punjab's Gurdaspur district went viral, which sparked allegations of police using force against farmers.

• The farmers were protesting against the land acquisition for the Bharatmala project before receiving compensation.

• Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee president Sarwan Singh Pandher alleged that the police resorted to force against the farmers.

The report was published on 18 May 2023.

(Source: Indian Express/Screenshot)

Other sources: A report in The Tribune added that the incident took place at the Bhambri village in Gurdaspur district, when farmers were protesting against the acquisition of their land for Delhi-Katra National Highway.

• It further said that Batala SSP Ashwini Goyal mentioned that the Home Guard Jawan who slapped the protesting woman was suspended.

• The Times of India had shared a video report talking about how farmers blocked trains and sat on rail tracks following the incident of the police personnel slapping an elderly woman.

Conclusion: It is evident that the incident is old and is being incorrectly shared as a recent one on social media platforms.

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