2011 Video Of Police Brutality In Bihar Falsely Shared As Assam

A disturbing video from June 2011 showing a policeman jumping on a person's body lying in an unconscious state in a field in Forbersganj industrial area of Bihar`s Araria district has been revived and falsely shared as visuals from the recent event of a similar nature in Darrang, Assam.

The video has been revived after Bijoy Baniya, a photographer employed by the local Darrang district administration on September 23, 2021, jumped on and repeatedly stamped on a local after he was shot and beaten by police personnel for attempting to attack them with a stick. The video of Baniya's actions went viral and he was soon arrested.

The incident happened during an eviction drive ordered by the Bharatiya Janata Party state government in Assam with an aim to clear 77,000 bighas of land for its ambitious plan of 'Garukhuti Project' in the Darrang district. The plan is to remove 'encroachers' and start agricultural initiatives for the youth. The protests and the police firing during the eviction drives have led to the deaths of at local villagers.

Read our ground report on the event here.

Also Read: A Horrifying Video From Assam, 2 Dead: What Is Govt's Plan In Darrang?

In the 33-seconds video being shared, we can see a policeman verbally abusing a man lying unconcious on the ground and then jumping on his body. Towards the end of the video, we can also see a body of a woman lying on the ground.

Given the graphic nature BOOM has decided not to include the viral video.

The video is being shared with the caption, "A dangerous escalation against Muslims in the Indian state of Assam: demolishing mosques, destroying Muslim homes, killing & arresting hundreds of them.Muslims face worst form of genocide in Assam at the hands of Terrorists RSS Fascists. #AssamHorror"

The same video is also being shared on Facebook with the same caption, and was posted by Pakistani political commentator Moeed Pirzada.

Also Read: Morphed Pic Shared To Falsely Claim Pak Minister Strip Searched At US Airport

FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the viral video is from June 2011, when a police firing had left four people dead in Forbesganj area of Araria district in Bihar. Following the same, a video surfaced of a policeman beating up a man violently till he was unconscious and then jumping on the villager's face.

A reverse image search using relevant keywords showed news reports on the 2011 incident which had the same viral video.

We can see the same visuals in this video report from 2011 by then Headlines Today (now India Today), reporting on the video.

Click here to view

A story published by The Wire in October 2015, identified the deceased man in the video as Mustafa Ansari and quoted his parents confirming the incident.

In an incident of industrial land dispute in Bihar, four persons, including a woman and a child, were killed and more than a dozen policemen were injured after a pitched battle between villagers and policemen at Forbesganj in Araria district reported The Hindu on June 4, 2011.

The report futher states that the residents of Bhajanpur village had, for some time, been protesting the erecting of the boundary wall of the starch plant. The Indian Express had then reported that all the victims belonged to the minority community and that the Araria Superintendent of Police was also injured in the incident.