A video of a burqa-clad woman in Kanpur thrashing a man for allegedly harassing her is falsely viral as a communal incident, with captions incorrectly identifying the man as Hindu.
BOOM found that the man being thrashed in the video is Muslim, and that the alleged incident of harassment has no communal angle.
A user shared the video, which contained a text indicating the location as Kanpur's Becon Ganj, along with a Hindi caption which translates to English as, "As soon as the burqa was seen, the Asaram #DNA of the hateful blind devotee got awakened, well that sister was also awake so she was properly rewarded for her action!"
Click here to view the above video. You can view the same video being shared with similar captions here and here.
No Communal Angle To Incident
Taking cue from the text in the video, which located the incident to Kanpur, BOOM did a keyword search with "kanpur harassment man beaten up". This led us to a statement made by the Police Commissionerate of Kanpur Nagar on February 26, 2025. The tweet referred to an incident that described what could be seen in the viral video, and dismissed the viral communal claims by stating that the man being beaten up in the video is from the Muslim community.
The police also stated that the man accused of harassment, Adnan, was mentally unstable, and is undergoing treatment.
The police statement could be translated from Hindi to English as, "A video going viral on social media, in which a woman is seen beating a man while alleging molestation, pertains to an incident dated 25.02.2025. The local police have taken cognizance of it. The man seen in the video has been identified as Adnan, son of the late Abdul Mabood, resident of Bajaria police station area. The accused's family members were contacted, and they stated that Adnan's mental condition is not normal and he is undergoing treatment. The accused has been apprehended by the police. A statement regarding the investigation and necessary action was provided by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anwarganj. @Uppolice @UPPViralCheck @Dcpcentralknr"
The same details were reported by ABP Live, Free Press Journal, and Lokmat Times, among others, carrying the viral video in the report. These articles also identify the man being beaten as Muslim, and not Hindu.
