A video of a woman activist being restrained by police personnel at a farmers protest in Rajasthan is viral with captions misidentifying her as suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The viral posts further claim that the video shows visuals of Sharma's arrest over her anti-Prophet remarks.
Several Gulf countries including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia have condemned the remarks made by former BJP members Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal against Prophet Mohammad in a national television debate show. Following heavy backlash, the ruling party of India distanced itself from the comments and expelled Jindal and suspended Sharma from the party. The video is viral in this backdrop.
In the viral video a woman can be seen being pulled by force by police personnel, as she resists.
Another version of the video is viral, where a background voice claims that Sharma has been arrested.
The video is being shared with the caption, "Nupur Sharma arrested after 4 days." ((In Hindi - गुस्ताख ए रसूल नूपुर शर्मा 4 दिन बाद हो गई गिरफ्तार) The same video is viral in Bangla with a caption, which translates to: (Original text in Bangla: XXX)
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The same video is also being shared on Twitter with the false claim.
Also Read: Morphed Poster Of Movie 'Muhammad' Shared With False Derogatory Claims
FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the woman in the viral video is Bhumi Birmi, district president, Women wing of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (non-political) from Churu, Rajasthan and not Nupur Sharma as being claimed in the viral posts.
On observing the video closely, we found keyframes where the police insignia is visible. We were able to ascertain that the same insignia resembles Rajasthan Police's uniform. Below is a comparison.
Taking a hint from this, we ran a relevant keyword search with keywords such as 'nupur sharma arrested' in Hindi and English and found a Facebook post that identified the woman in the viral video. We also found another post that put out a screenshot from the viral video and identified her as Bhumi Birmi while tagging her.
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We then looked up Birmi's profile on Facebook and found that she is the woman seen in the viral video. Birmi's Facebook profile states that she is the district president, Women Wing of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Non-political), Churu, Rajasthan.
We also found local news reports on the protest where similar visuals and sequence of events can be seen from a different angle.
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Birmi had also uploaded videos on June 15, 2022, of the farmers protest in Churu in Rajasthan.
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In this video below uploaded by Birmi, we can see the same visuals as in the viral video.
Additionally we also found a news report by ABP News dated June 16, 2022, on the demonstration stating that an All India Kisan Sabha meeting in Churu, Rajasthan turned violent as protesters tried to break barricades and enter the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) office.
BOOM has reached out to Birmi for a response, and the article will be updated once we receive a response.
Further, we did not find any credible reports of Sharma being arrested or facing imminent arrest over her anti-Prophet remarks.
