A disturbing video showing a man assaulting a sadhu and forcefully chopping off his hair is being shared on social media with captions giving the incident a false communal spin claiming the man hitting the sadhu is a Muslim.
BOOM spoke to the local police who confirmed to us that there is no communal angle in the incident.
The viral video shows a man cutting the hair of a sadhu dressed in a saffron cloth. He can be seen hitting the sadhu and abusing him too.
A Hindi caption with the post translates to 'A Muslim youth chopped off an aghori sadhu's beard and hair publicly in Khandwa. Share this post as much as possible so this son of a pig can be arrested soon. He should be punished by strict Hindu Act."
(Hindi: खंडवा में एक मुस्लिम युवक ने एक अघोरी साधु महाराज की जटाएऔर दाढ़ी सारे आम काटी इस सूअर की औलाद को जल्द से जल्द पकड़ा जाए सभी इस पोस्ट को ज्यादा से ज्यादा फॉरवर्ड करें इसे सख्त से सख्त हिंदू एक्ट में सजा होनी चाहिए)
Click here to view the post.
Click here to view the post.
BOOM also received the video with the same claim on its WhatsApp tipline number.
Also Read: Video Of Stone Pelting On Raj Police Shared With False Communal Claim
Fact Check
BOOM search the internet with relevant keywords and found a Hindustan Times report published on May 25 having the same video.
According to the report, the incident took place in Madhya Pradesh's Patajan village in Khalwa block on May 22. The report stated that the accused, identified as Praveen Gaur, has been detained. The accused is the son of a hotelier, the report added.
The video was also uploaded on Hindustan Times' official YouTube channel on May 25, 2022.
Another article published on NDTV on May 28 stated that the sadhu used to beg in the market area for survival. On May 22, he got into an altercation with the accused Praveen Gaur, who first assaulted him in full public view and later dragged him to a hair salon and forcefully cut his hair.
BOOM also contacted the Khalwa police to verify the authenticity of the claim.
Speaking to BOOM, Khalwa Sub Inspector said, "The detained person's name is Praveen Gaur. We have not registered a case yet because the victim has not been traced."
Also Read: Photo Of Army Chief With Mohan Bhagwat And Nitin Gadkari Is Edited