A graphic video showing a naked and tied-up man being beaten with a wooden paddle has gone viral on social media.
The claim: Social media users are sharing the video, claiming that it shows Bahanaga's station master Mohammed Sharif – the "primary accused" in Odisha’s train accident near Balasore – being thrashed after hiding in a madarsa in West Bengal.
(Note: We have refrained from adding links to the video due to its graphic nature.)
The video is viral across social media platforms.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
The Quint received several queries for this video’s verification on its WhatsApp tipline.
Is it true?: No. The video has been on the internet since October 2021.
The South Eastern Railways' Chief Public Relations (CPRO) refuted any claims of Bahanaga Bazar's railway staffers going missing or absconding.
How did we find out?: In the video, a person off-camera can be heard counting down from seven in Spanish, which indicated that the video might not be from India.
We ran a reverse image search on a screenshot of the viral video on Google, which led us to a Reddit post that was shared on 30 October 2021.
This video was shared on a subreddit called 'Narco Footage,' where the title mentioned that it showed a thief being punished by a cartel member.
The post was shared on 30 October 2021, nearly two years before the train accident.
(Source: Reddit/Altered by The Quint)
We also came across another website which had shared this video in 2022.
Disinformation about station master 'Mohammed Sharif'?: In an earlier fact-check, The Quint had found that the station master's name was not Mohammed Sharif as claimed.
We verified the identity of the station master with Balasore's Deputy Collector, the CPRO of South Eastern Railways and some local reporters, all of who confirmed that the station master's name was neither Sharif nor was he from the Muslim community.
CPRO Aditya Kumar Chaudhary told The Quint that SB Mohanty was the station master at the time of the accident and he was not absconding. "Everyone is cooperating," Chaudhary said.
Is the real station master absconding?: We came across a tweet on the railway spokesperson's Twitter account, where Chaudhary issued a statement on 20 June, refuting all claims of railway staffers going missing or absconding
"There are a few media reports that say that staff members of Bahanaga Bazar are absconding or missing. This is factually inaccurate. All staff members of the station are present and are a part of the enquiry," he said, adding that they were all cooperating with investigating agencies.
Balasore's train accident: The Coromandel Express derailed and crashed into two other trains, one of which was the Bengaluru-Howrah Express on 2 June.
How the three trains collided in the Odisha train accident on 2 June.
(Source: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)
The massive accident claimed at least 288 lives and left over 900 injured.
Officials suspect problem with the interlocking system – an automated signalling system – to be the cause behind the tragedy.
Conclusion: The video is old and predates the Odisha train accident by two years.
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