A video of a group of men striking a helpless man with iron rods and sticks has gone viral, with the assertion being made that Christians in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh are being harassed by anti-evangelicals.
@Lamsieh2023 made the claim in a twitter post that the Christians got harassed by anti-evangelicals in Uttar Pradesh. The video was attached in this post to support the claim made. The post was made on March 26, 2024, which has received an about more than 8k views on X.
Several other accounts, including @RamaNishani made the same claim that the video shows the Christians getting harassed by anti-evangelicals in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The archive can be read from above.
What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact
The truth is that this is an old video from Punjab, India, showing a 35-year-old man being attacked by bootleggers in Sunam in February 2023. The victim was not a Christian, and they attacked him because they thought he was a police informant. It has nothing to do with religion and actions were taken against each and every accused person involved in this criminal act.
The official account of @SangrurPolice tweeted “One video of Sunam is going viral on social media platforms in which one person is being beaten mercilessly by 4 persons along with others. In this incident, an FIR 29 dated 15/02/23 under 307, 323,324,325,506,148,149 IPC had been registered against 6 accused in PS City Sunam,..” on Feb 19, 2023.
One video of Sunam is going viral on social media platforms in which one person is being beaten mercilessly by 4 persons along with others.
— Sangrur Police (@SangrurPolice) February 19, 2023
In this incident, an FIR 29 dated 15/02/23 under 307, 323,324,325,506,148,149 IPC had been registered against 6 accused in PS City Sunam,.. pic.twitter.com/VrQ4WryBZb
We visited Hindustan Times, which published an article on this incident on Feb 21, 2023 with the headline “Bootleggers assault 35-year-old man in Punjab’s Sunam”. Sonu Kumar, the victim, is receiving treatment at AIMS, Bathinda. He lives in Jagatpura Basti, Sunam. In addition to receiving numerous stitches, authorities stated that he has more than a dozen of stitches to his wrists, arms, fingers, and feet. The police have booked the six accused on charges of attempt to murder. Cops have arrested Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Sunam, while the other five accused, including the main accused Mani Singh, resident of Jagatpura Basti, Amrik Singh, Lavi Singh, Malkeet Kaur and Gopal Singh, all residents of Sunam, are absconding.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1786
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) March 28, 2024
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A sensitive video that shows a group of people beating up a helpless man with sticks and iron rods has been shared, claiming that anti-evangelicals are harassing Christian individuals in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/RBGA4661vL
Intent:
Propagandists are circulating old videos with false claims to set their propaganda based on religion. A sensitive video that shows a group of people beating up a helpless man with sticks and iron rods has been shared, claiming that anti-evangelicals are harassing Christian individuals in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. This is an old video from Punjab, India, showing bootleggers assaulting a 35-year-old man in Sunam in February 2023. The victim, who was not a Christian, was attacked on the grounds as they believed him to be a police informer. There was no connection between religion and the actions were taken against all of the the accused in this criminal crime.
Conclusion:
Claim : It has been reported that anti-evangelicals are harassing Christians in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, based on a sensitive video depicting a group of people beating up a helpless man with sticks and iron rods.
Fact : The fact is that this is an old video from India’s Punjab, where bootleggers assaulted a 35-year-old man in Sunam in February 2023. They attacked the victim, suspecting him to be a police informer; the victim was not a Christian individual. Action was taken against all the accused involved in this criminal act, and it had nothing to do with religion.
