A video depicting a man openly assaulting and dragging a woman has gone viral. The video purports to show that the victim, a Dalit woman, was attacked for stealing water from a hand pump and is being misrepresented as a victim of a hate crime based on her caste.

@VijayRamAzadASP tweeted “People say that there is no casteism in India now, no Dalit is persecuted, there is no Dalit atrocities, but what is the reality, you can see it in this video. Even today people of Dalit caste cannot take water from public tap, this thing is becoming clear in this video. @Uppolice” on April 1, 2024. Several other accounts, including @DanishHasa15219 made the same claim that the Dalit girl was beaten up for filling water from the hand pump. The archive can be read from above.

What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact

The crime happened in Rari village in Fatehpur, and both the accused and the victim were of the same caste. It is unrelated to religion or caste. Further action is being taken once the suspects were taken into custody.

The official account of @fatehpurpolice tweeted “Viral video/news under Kishanpur police station, “Stopped from filling water in government hand pump, when the woman protested, she was beaten very brutally.” The byte returned by #Addlspfhr with respect to. #UPPolice” on April 1, 2024.

थाना किशनपुर अन्तर्गत वायरल वीडियो/खबर "सरकारी हैण्डपम्प में पानी भरने से रोका गया, महिला ने विरोध किया तो बहुत ही बेहरहमी से पीटा गया।" के संबंध में #Addlspfhr द्वारा दी गयी बाइट।#UPPolice pic.twitter.com/a96o36MGyZ

— FATEHPUR POLICE (@fatehpurpolice) April 1, 2024

We visited bhaskar, which published an article on this incident with the headline “युवती को दबंग ने लात-घूसों से पीटा, VIDEO:फतेहपुर में सरकारी हैंडपंप में पानी भरने को लेकर झगड़ा, बाल पकड़कर जमीन पर पटका”. For more clarification, we also went to News 18, which wrote about this on April 1, 2024 with the headline “Girl came to fill water at government hand pump, bully picked her up and threw her, video goes viral”. Something terrible has emerged from the Rari village in the Kishanpur police station region of the Fatehpur district. The filling of water from the government hand pump was actually the subject of a disagreement between two groups. The powerful man threw the girl to the ground and beat her severely because the argument had gotten out of hand. The girl was viciously beaten in a video that was captured and posted on social media. The article added “ASP Vijay Shankar Mishra told that in Rari village of Kishanpur police station there was an altercation and fight between two parties of Paswan community over filling water at the government hand pump. In this regard, Gayatri Devi, daughter of Dayaram Paswan, was kicked and beaten with sticks by the opposition groups.”. The accused have been brought into custody and the appropriate legal action is underway after a case was filed under the applicable sections at the Kishanpur police station.

D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:

1803
ANALYSIS: Misleading

FACT: A sensitive video that shows a man beating and dragging a woman publicly has been shared, claiming that a Dalit woman was beaten up for taking water from a handpump and projected as a caste-based hate crime (1/3) pic.twitter.com/N8aqWUPmXM

— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) April 2, 2024

Intent:

Influencers circulate sensitive videos with misleading claims to create communal tension. A sensitive video that shows a man beating and dragging a woman publicly has been shared, claiming that a Dalit woman was beaten up for taking water from a handpump and projected as a caste-based hate crime by highlighting the casteist identity of the victim. The victim and the accused were both part of the same caste, and the crime happened in the Rari village of Fatehpur. Religion or caste are unrelated to it. After the accused were taken into custody, more actions were conducted.

Conclusion:

Claim : Sensitive footage of a man publicly hitting and dragging a woman has gone viral. It purports that the victim, a Dalit woman, was attacked because she was getting water from a hand pump. The victim’s caste identity is highlighted, casting the incident as a hate crime based on caste.

Fact : The fact is that the accused and victim both belonged to the same caste; the incident occurred at Rari village in Fatehpur. It has nothing to do with caste or religion. The accused have been arrested; further action is being taken.

Also Read : Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh — Two Lower Caste Individuals Brutally Beaten Up For Entering a Temple? Fact-Check