A video showing a group of individuals engaging in a physical altercation with a man is doing the rounds on social media. The 45-second video shows a crowd using sticks to assault the man on a road while some bystanders attempt to shield and protect him.
It is claimed that the man in the viral video is BJP leader Rohit Pandit, who was brutally thrashed in Greater Noida after arguing with people over the Manipur issue.
A social media user shared this video and wrote: “ग्रेटर नोएडा में भाजपा नेता रोहित पंडित की भयंकर कुटाई हुई! दौड़ा–दौड़ा कर लाठी डंडों से कुटा गया! मणिपुर को लेकर बहस कर रहा था लोगों ने दे दना दन देना शूरू कर दिया.” [English translation: BJP leader Rohit Pandit was brutally thrashed in Greater Noida! He was chased and beaten with sticks. He was arguing about Manipur, after which people thrashed him.]
Here’s the link to the above post.
It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Performing a Reverse Image Search of the keyframes of the video, the NM team found the video in The Times Of India report dated July 28, 2023. According to the report, there was a dispute between two sides in the village over some issues. Later the situation escalated, and the BJP leader was chased down and beaten by locals.
Dainik Bhaskar, dated July 28, 2023, reports that the viral incident is from Ladpura village, which comes under the jurisdiction of Kasna police station. In the village, some land was lying vacant, on which some people wanted to build a temple. However, the Lakhpat family, landowners, declined permission for the temple’s construction on their property. This disagreement escalated when some people attempted to remove the ‘Lakhpat’ name from the village’s gateway, a structure previously built by the Lakhpat family.
On July 25, 2023, as these individuals began erasing the name from the village’s gateway, the Lakhpat family members arrived at the scene, resulting in a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical confrontation. In this quarrel, BJP district vice president Rahul Pandit was also assaulted. Later, he was rescued by the police and admitted to the hospital.
The police have identified about 20 people based on the video and filed a case against them.
The above findings establish that the video in question is from Noida, where locals assaulted the BJP leader over a land dispute and has nothing to do with Manipur violence.
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