Misleading claims have been made about a British Navy official who was allegedly assaulted by Indian police in Chennai for not giving them money, based on a video that shows a shirtless man causing trouble and police officers attempting to apprehend him.
Verified accounts on twitter, including @ownthoughts_24 claimed that the British Navy official was being assaulted by Indian police in Chennai for refusing to give them money. The tweet post was made on April 3, 2024, which has received an about 12.2k views on X.
🚨#Breaking There are reports of a British Navy official being assaulted by Indian police in Chennai allegedly for refusing to give them money.#Britishnavy pic.twitter.com/i6CZbVjWcs
— Own Thoughts 🔻 (@ownthoughts_24) April 2, 2024
Several other accounts, including @AwesomeMughals, @ExposingDirty, @KavitaWrites, @ManojSh28986262 made the same claim that British Navy official was being assaulted by Indian police in Chennai for refusing to give them money. The archive can be read from above.
What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact
The truth is that this assertion is unfounded and fraudulent. Reports state that on Sunday, a UK Royal Navy sailor who was intoxicated caused a disturbance outside a Royapettah shopping centre. J L Willis was recognised as the sailor. Despite not having a complaint filed against him, he was detained for causing a disturbance.
We visited Times of India, which published an article on this incident on April 1, 2024 with the headline “Drunk sailor of UK’s Royal Navy creates ruckus in Chennai”. The sailor, J L Willis, is a crew member of one of the two Royal Navy ships that have been anchored at the shipbuilding facility owned by Larsen & Toubro at Kattupalli. On Sunday afternoon, Willis and 24 others visited the mall in Royapettah. He came out and picked up a quarrel with the people entering the mall. Police came and questioned him and later allowed Willis to go with his collegues. No case was registered further.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1808
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) April 2, 2024
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A video that shows a shirtless man creating ruckus and policemen trying to capture him has been shared with misleading claim that a British Navy official being assaulted by Indian police in Chennai for refusing to give them money. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/SHBfh0HXMK
Intent:
Propagandists are circulating video with false claims to set their propaganda against India. A video that shows a shirtless man creating ruckus and policemen trying to capture him has been shared with misleading claim that a British Navy official being assaulted by Indian police in Chennai for refusing to give them money. This assertion is false and unfounded, that much is true. Ruckus outside a Royapettah mall involved a drunk UK Royal Navy man, named J L Willis, the sailor. Despite not having a complaint filed against him, he was detained for causing disturbance.
Conclusion:
Claim : The false accusation that an Indian police official in Chennai beat a British Navy official for refusing to give them money was spread via a video showing a shirtless man causing trouble and police officers attempting to apprehend him.
Fact : The fact is that this claim is fake and baseless. According to reports a drunk sailor of the UK’s Royal Navy created a ruckus outside a mall in Royapettah on Sunday. The sailor was identified as J L Willis. He was detained for creating ruckus, but no case was registered against him.
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