Video Of Tribal Woman Assaulted In MP Goes Viral With False Claims

A disturbing video from Madhya Pradesh showing a tribal woman viciously attacked by her family members, for eloping with a Dalit man, has been shared on social media over the weekend with false claims linking it to politics and religion.

BOOM found that the video was from Madhya Pradesh and was in no way connected to any political or religious ideology. The men seen brutally attacking the victim in the video included her family members.

The caption with the video reads ‘Look at the way these 8-10 people are beating a woman. Putting a 50 rupee saffron scarf around your neck gives you the freedom to do anything. Is this Modi’s #NewIndia ? Such incidents are taking place in India everyday now. Such people are monsters.

(Hindi: किस तरह 8-10 लड़के मिलकर एक लड़की को मार रहे हैं 50₹ का भगवा गमछा गले में डालकर आपको कुछ भी करने की आजादी है । क्या यही है मोदीजी का #NewIndia ? भारत में ऐसी घटना हर रोज कहीं न कहीं हो रही है ऐसे लोग इंसान नहीं शैतान हैं ।)

The original Facebook post can be accessed here and to access its archived version click here.

The video has been widely shared on Twitter and Facebook with similar claims.

Fact Check

A reverse image search on the key frames of the video led BOOM to a news report published in The Hindu‘s June 30 edition. The article reported that the incident was from a village 90 km from Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

According to news reports, the woman, a tribal, was beaten by her family members for having eloped with a Dalit man.

BOOM got in touch with local police to find out more details about the incident. We called Bagh police station in Dhar district where a case has been registered. Town inspector Kamlesh Singhar told BOOM the following.

The incident is from Gatbori village. The girl, a tribal, was married but had an affair with a Dalit man called Vivek. Unhappy with her marriage, the girl eloped along with the Dalit youth on May 25. A missing report was registered by the girl’s brother Mahesh at Bagh police station. She was found after a month on June 25 and reunited with her family — Kamlesh Singhar, TI, Bagh police station

The TI further said that when the family members asked her to discontinue her relationship with Vivek, she refused. The disgruntled family members later, on pretext of taking her to Vivek, took the woman to an isolated place far from the house and brutally assaulted her. The victim’s brother was one of the seven accused who assaulted the victim.

Singhar said that as the video went viral, the police department sprung in action and identified all the seven people in the video and arrested them. The victim’s brother Mahesh was also among those arrested. The accused were booked under IPC section 294, 323, 147, 148, 354 D and 307. Singhar told BOOM that the girl was doing fine now.