A disturbing video of a woman's severed hand following a bus accident in Karnataka is being shared with the false claim that the act was done by goons while she was trying to board a Karnataka State Transport Corporation bus. The incident is also being falsely linked to the recent Shakti scheme, launched by the Karnataka state government, allowing female passengers to travel for free in state run buses.
BOOM found that the claim is false and the woman's hand was severed when when a lorry rammed into the Karnataka Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus she was travelling in, near Basavarajpura in Mysore district on June 18, 2023.
The 20-second video shows an injured woman with a severed hand sitting near the steps of the bus surrounded by people who are screaming.
BOOM has not included the video due to its graphic nature.
Wasim R Khan, president of the minority cell of BJP's Mumbai unit, tweeted the video with the caption which translates to, "Goons cut off a woman's hand in a moving bus in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi ji answer."
(In Hindi - यह तस्वीर आपको विचलित कर सकती है. कर्नाटक में चलती बस में दबंगों ने महिला का हात काटा @RahulGandhi जी जवाब दो!)
The video is being shared linking it to the Shakti scheme. The caption when translated reads, A woman's hand was chopped off while climbing through the window of a bus in Hulinahalli, Karnataka. The woman had to pay for the free bus journey”.
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the woman in the viral video was injured after a lorry rammed into a Karnataka Transport Corporation bus near Basavarajpura in Mysore district on June 18, 2023.
On checking the quote tweets to the viral tweet with the false claim, we found a tweet by journalist Yasir Mushtaq who started that the video is actually from an accident. Mushtaq added that the accident occurred after a collision between a truck and a bus in Nanjangud and a case has also been registered against the truck driver.
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Taking a hint from this, we then ran a keyword search which search results showed a report on the accident published on June 25, 2023 by The Hindu.
The report had carried a statement issued by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation dismissing the claim that the woman's hand got amputated while she was climbing through the window.
The photo in the report shows the same bus which is seen in the viral video.
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The statement issued by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation reads, "On June 18, a bus from Nanjangud depot under Chamarajanagar division was plying between Nanjangud-T Narsipur. At around 1.45 pm, the bus collided with a lorry of Tamil Nadu number near Basavarajpur. The lorry coming at high speed from the opposite direction hit the right side of the bus. Two women sitting on the window side were seriously injured in this accident."
The report further stated that, “In the accident, the right hand of a woman named S. Shantha Kumari was amputated and another woman named Rajamma Nayak sustained serious injuries on her right hand. After getting information about the incident, officials of the transport department visited the spot and admitted the injured a government hospital in Nanjangud for first aid. Later the injured were admitted to Apollo Hospital in Mysore for better treatment. A case has also been registered against the lorry driver at the local Billigere police station.”
The report stated that according to the preliminary investigation, it has been found that there was no fault of the bus driver in this accident and also added that Karnataka State Transport Corporation is bearing the entire cost of the treatment of both the injured women.
BOOM also contacted Latha TS, Public Relations Officer, Karnataka State Transport Corporation who refuted the viral claim. Latha sent us details regarding the incident and also sent us photographs of the bus and lorry that had met into an accident.
The photos of the bus and lorry can be seen below.
"On the afternoon of June 18, Chamarajanagar Division bus KA10F1501 running between Nanjangud-T Narsipur was hit by a speeding lorry TN77Q8735. Due to the collision, two women sitting on the window side were injured. One of these women, S. Shantha Kumari's right hand was amputated and the other woman, Rajamma, suffered serious injuries on her right hand. Later, officials of the transport department visited the spot, first sent the injured to the nearby government hospital and then they were admitted to Apollo Hospital, Mysore for better treatment", Dr Latha told BOOM.