Old Video Peddled as Recent Visuals of Violence Breaking Out in Churachandpur

We found that the viral visuals could be traced back to at least September 2015 and are not recent.

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

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of a cloud of smoke forming over an area is being shared on the internet with a claim that it shows recent visuals of violence breaking out in Manipur's Churachandpur.

Those sharing the clip have uploaded it saying, "Manipur: Violent Kuki Zo community continues to attack government & civilian infrastructures a day after PM Modi’s visit. Showing no intention for peace, the violent community resorts to rioting..."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar such claims could be found here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: We found a longer version of the viral clip, which could be traced back to at least September 2015 and reportedly showed protesters outside a police station in Manipur.

Hints in the viral video: We noticed that the platform seen in the middle of the road carried text that said "Churachandpur Traffic Police", which indicated that the video was indeed from Manipur.

The video carried a board of Churachandpur.

(Source: Viral video/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

Finding the longer version: On conducting a keyword search using the phrase "manipur churachandpur police fire protest" on YouTube, we came across a longer version of the viral clip.

• It was shared on 7 September 2015 with a title that said, "Manipur: Irate protestors outside police station after police fired expired tear gas shells."

• The video's description said, "September 1, 2015: Violent protest broke out in Manipur after the passage of three controversial land bills by Manipur Assembly. Manipur. This footage captures irate mobs outside Lamka Police station in Churachandpur after it was found that the police lobbed expired tear gas shells on them."

Comparing visuals: Team WebQoof compared a keyframe from the viral video to a visual available in the YouTube clip and found both of them were from the same incident.

A comparison clearly highlights the similarities.

(Source: YouTube/Screenshot/Altered by The Quint)

News reports in 2015: A report published in The Hindu said that protests had escalated against the passage of three bills in Manipur.

• The report mentioned three people were killed after police opened fire on a mob in the Churachandpur district, which took the death toll to eight.

Conclusion: Evidently, the video is old and is being incorrectly shared as a recent incident.

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