Ludhiana, Punjab — Undisciplined Child Beaten in School, Propagandists Made Communal Claims: Fact-Check

A few days ago, a video surfaced on social media, causing quite a stir. The video showed a child being brutally punished at a school in Ludhiana, Punjab. The incident was portrayed as a religious hate crime against the child, who is a Muslim. However, our investigation reveals that the incident was misrepresented and had nothing to do with the child’s religion.

The video of this incident was shared on social media platforms by users such as @MuslimSpaces, @KashifArsalaan, @ZuberMedia, @Angryman_J, @jdk51335, @AffanKh65872910, @HindMasjid, and @SalehMohmd_. These users highlighted the child’s religious identity and claimed that he was punished because of it.

The Incident

The child involved in the incident was known to be rowdy and undisciplined at school. He had altercations with several other students and even injured another child with a pencil. When the injured child’s parents complained about this to the school, the teacher decided to discipline the rowdy student. While it is true that the child was harshly disciplined, but the method is indeed harsh & unacceptable, it is misleading to claim that this was a religious hate crime. Such misrepresentations can lead to unnecessary communal tension.

Our investigation found that the incident had nothing to do with the child’s religion. The teacher’s actions were in response to the child’s unruly behaviour and not his religious identity. The teacher involved in the incident has been arrested.

Conclusion

The incident at the Ludhiana, Punjab school was an unfortunate case of indiscipline and inappropriate response by a teacher towards a child. However, attributing the incident to religious discrimination is misleading and false. Following a precise analysis and fact-checking, our team has reviewed the claim. You can refer to the findings of this inquiry in the Twitter thread below. Also, read accurate reports from Dainik Bhaskar and Amar Ujala.

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ANALYSIS: Misleading

FACT: A sensitive video of a child being tortured at a school in Ludhiana has been shared, highlighting the religious identity of the child and claiming that he was tortured because of his religious identity. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/ll2BVSWvtE

— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) September 23, 2023

Claim: The child was punished because of his religious identity.

Fact: The child was disciplined for his unruly behaviour at school.

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