An image of a wounded Sikh man has gone viral on social media with the claim that he sustained these injuries during the farmers’ Republic Day rally, for which as many as 25 FIRs have been filed so far, for the ensuing violence.
The image, however, dates back to June 2019 when a Grameen Seva tempo driver, Sarabjeet Singh was brutally beaten up by the Delhi Police. Videos of their altercation went viral, showing the Sikh driver chasing the policemen with a sword in hand, and the police beating him up. Three cops were suspended when the matter came to light and after an inquiry by a senior officer, two were dismissed from services.
CLAIM
The image was shared by users a day after the violence on 26 January during the farmers’ protest.
The Quint also received multiple queries regarding the image on its WhatsApp helpline.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search of the viral image led us to a post by a Facebook page, ‘Haryana Times,’ dated 17 June 2019, with the caption, “Delhi Police’s beating left injury marks on Sardar ji’s body,” in Hindi.
A relevant keyword search led us to another social media post, dated 17 June 2019, which claimed that a Sikh auto driver and his son were beaten up by Delhi Police, leading to the suspension of three police officers.
The images were also shared by AAP leader Ankit Lal on the same date, identifying the location as Mukherjee Nagar.
Clearly, the image is old and not from the recent violence at the Red Fort, as claimed.
Further, we found that videos of the altercation between the Sikh tempo driver, identified as Sarabjeet Singh, with the Delhi Police had gone viral on social media, at the time.
The video shows the policemen thrashing and dragging Singh on the ground, after his tempo grazed past a police van. Singh is also seen wielding a sword and chasing after the policemen. His teenaged son was also present at the time of the incident.
The incident triggered protests at Mukherjee Nagar and led to the suspension of three cops, including two ASIs.
The Delhi Police had clarified that two cross FIRs have been registered by the police personnel as well as the driver, and the matter would be investigated by the Crime Branch.
An inquiry by a senior police officer later found that the two suspended constables, Pushpendra Shekhawat and Satya Prakash, had indulged in ‘unprovoked, indiscreet and highly unprofessional’ behaviour. The two were dismissed from services, according to a report by NDTV.
An interview of Singh, the man in the viral image, was also carried by Dilli Tak, alleging that the attack was unprovoked.
Evidently, an image of an injured Sikh man from 2019 has been falsely revived in the context of the farmers’ rally.
The Quint’s WebQoof team has debunked several other claims around the Republic Day rally, such as users claiming that the tricolour was ‘removed’ from the Red Fort and a ‘Khalistani flag’ was hoisted.
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