A disturbing video of a group of men brutally assaulting a minor girl in Gujarat for allegedly eloping with a man is viral claiming upper caste men punished a lower caste woman for drawing water from a public well in Uttar Pradesh.
BOOM had spoken to Gujarat police in May 2020 when the same video was viral, and who had confirmed that the incident is from Chhota Udepur district in the state and that nine people, including members from the girl's extended family had been booked by the police.
Also Read: Gujarat: Minor Girl Publicly Thrashed For Eloping, Video Goes Viral
The video is being shared in the backdrop of an alleged gang rape and murder case of a young Dalit woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh that has made national headlines. The young woman was allegedly tortured and raped and murdered by four upper caste men on September 14, 2020, while she was collecting animal fodder in the fields. All the four accused have been since arrested.
In the viral video, a man is seen holding both the hands of the girl, while two other men thrash her repeatedly even hitting her with a stick. They are surrounded by several men who make no attempt to stop or rescue the young girl. One can also hear a local dialect of Gujarati being spoken by the men beating the teenager.
The video is being shared with the caption, which when translated from Tamil reads, "In Uttar Pradesh, which is ruled by Modi's blessings, look at the injustice done to them by the dominant dogs who claim that the woman who was degraded during the Yogi's rule took drinking water from a public well."
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(In Tamil - மோடி ஆசீர்வாதத்தால் ஆட்சி நடக்கும் உத்திரபிரதேசத்தில் யோகியின் யோகிதை ஆட்சியில் தாழ்த்தப்பட்ட பெண் பொதுக் கிணற்றில் குடிநீர் எடுத்ததாக கூறி அந்தப் பெண்ணை பெண்ணென்றும் பாராமல் ஆதிக்க நாய்கள் அவர்கள் செய்யும் அநியாயத்தை பாருங்கள்.)
Viral on Facebook
On searching with the same caption, we found that the video was being shared with the false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat and local police had previously confirmed the incident saying the girl is a minor who was thrashed by her family members.
We had previously fact-checked the same viral video in May 2020 when it was viral with the same false claim. BOOM had then spoken to the Gujarat police who had confirmed that the incident is from Chhota Udepur district saying the girl is a minor who was thrashed by her family members.
Also Read: Video Of Gujarat Teen Thrashed Passed Off As Atrocity By Upper Caste In UP
MS Bhabhor, Superintendent of Police, Chhota Udepur had then told BOOM that the girl in the viral clip is a 16-year-old resident of Bilwat and those seen beating her are part of her extended family.
"The girl eloped with a man from the village aged 20 and ran away to Madhya Pradesh. They were soon caught by the girl's family and brought back to the village where the family members of the girl beat her up publicly," Bhabhor had said.
He had further added that the Gujarat police were alerted to the incident on May 27, 2020, when the video of the beating reached them. "We first traced the girl to Rangpur police jurisdiction and after speaking to her, registered a case against those who assaulted her," he said.
Chhota Udepur Police had also denied that the viral claims that the incident happened in Uttar Pradesh and that higher caste men beat up a girl for drawing water from their well.
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