The thing about misinformation is that it is easy to believe, especially if it’s supported with realistic visuals. But just because it’s convincing, doesn’t mean it is true.
CLAIM
Ever since the New Motor Vehicles Act has been implemented, there has been a flurry of videos which show the public and police quarreling over hefty challans. While many videos are real, quite a lot of old and unrelated videos are being passed off with false claims.
Now, a video is being massively shared on Facebook which shows a cop thrashing a man. The accompanying text with the video claims that the man was beaten up because he was not wearing a helmet while riding.
“अगर आपने हेलमेट नहीं लगाया तो इन पुलिस वालों को मारने का अधिकार किसने दिया | (Who gave these policemen the right to thrash this man?)
The above video has been shared by over 62,000 users and has garnered at least 4,800 reactions.
TRUE OR FALSE?
While the video is true, the accompanying claim is completely false. It shows a cop thrashing a youth at Palibetta police station in Karnataka’s Virajpet Taluk after the principal of a junior school informed the police about the man misbehaving with a female student.
Speaking to The Quint, Head Constable, Ganesh said, “Two girls studying at the junior college had complained about a person harassing and eve-teasing them after contacting one of the girls on Facebook. He had turned up at their college gate following which the principal asked us to come.”
The man was 32 years old and a native of Kerala. However, no formal complaint was filed by the parents of the girl and the man was let off.
WHAT DID WE FIND OUT
On breaking down the video into several keyframes, we came across an article by a website called ‘Public TV’. The article suggested that the incident took place in Palibetta in Karnataka but involved two men from Kerala.
We then used keywords ‘Palibetta Kerala police misbehaving with student video’ and came across another report by ‘Daiji World’ which included the details of the incident.
As per this article, the youth had befriended the girl on Facebook and came to meet her in Palibetta where she studied. It further added that he misbehaved with her in the college premises following which the principal called the police.
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