A viral video of a couple setting themselves on fire has resurfaced in context of the ongoing farmer protest in the country.
The video is actually from 2019, when a couple from Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district had self-immolated to protest police inaction against a village strongman, who had been harassing them.
CLAIM
The video is being shared with the claim,
“मरते हैं किसान और मजदूर तो मरने दो, वह कोई सुशांत थोड़ी है। उजड़ता है खेत, खलिहान या आशियाना तो उजड़ने दो, कंगना का मकान/ऑफिस थोड़ी है।”
(Translation: “Farmers and labourers die, let them die. Destroy the field, let the barn or the house be destroyed; this isn’t Kangana's house/office.”)
The Quint has blurred the screenshots due to their graphic nature.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
The video is actually of 2019, when a couple from Mathura had set themselves on fire due to police inaction.
A keyword search led us to a report dated 29 August 2019, by NDTV, carrying the video. The report stated that the couple set themselves on fire inside the compound of a police station in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. The video, shot by their son, had gone viral on social media.
The couple had alleged inaction by the police on their complaint against some village strongmen who had been harassing them.
The Quint had also reported that three police officials including a sub-inspector Deepak Nagar of Surir police station were suspended as an investigation was launched over the alleged laxity by the police.
We had earlier debunked another false claim in September 2019, when the same video had been shared in the context of atrocities being committed against Dalits and Muslims under the Modi government.
Speaking to The Quint the couple’s son, Jagdish, had stated that his parents took their lives due to police inaction.
Evidently, an old video has resurfaced with a false claim that it is of farmers setting themselves on fire.
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