An old video of the brutal attack on a person from Punjab goes viral with false claims.

The viral video depicts an incident that occurred in Jagatpura village in the Sunam area of Sangrur district, Punjab, in February 2023. There is no communal angle to the incident. 

A disturbing video of a man being brutally attacked by a group of people is going viral with the claim that the victim is a Christian being beaten up by a mob in Uttar Pradesh. In the video we can see three men mercilessly beating a man with iron rods.
The caption of the video states,“My dear brothers and sister be aware of what is happening to our fellow Christians in Central India. If you don’t pray now, then when will you pray (UP) Heartbreaking sight of anti-evangelicals harassing God’s servants in Uttar Pradesh”.

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Fact Check-

We started our investigation with a keyword and reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a report published by the Hindustan Times on 21 February, 2023 with a caption “Bootleggers assault 35-year-old man in Punjab’s Sunam”. The report carried a screen shot of the viral video also. It mentions that the victim, Sonu Kumar, a resident of Jagatpura Basti in Sunam has suffered over twelve fractures to his feet, legs, wrists, arms and fingers apart from dozens of stitches.The police have booked the six accused on charges of attempt to murder. The accused attacked the victim with iron rods modified with sharp cutters. They also filmed the entire incident. They attacked the victim suspecting him to be a police informer.

Cops have arrested Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Sunam, while the other five accused were Mani Singh, resident of Jagatpura Basti, Amrik Singh, Lavi Singh, Malkeet Kaur and Gopal Singh, all residents of Sunam, are absconding.

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As per the Indian Express report of 21 February “The police in Punjab’s Sangrur district Sunday (February 19) arrested one of the six people booked for beating up a 37-year-old man over personal enmity”. The victim, 37-year-old Sonu Kumar, was travelling with his son on their motorcycle to bring a geyser from his father’s house. When they reached Bajigar Basti, mother of one of the accused, Mani Singh, began gathering people to “teach Sonu a lesson”.
Sonu, along with his son Buta Singh, was driving to bring a geyser from his father’s house when Malkit Kaur, Mani Singh’s mother, gathered people to teach Sonu a lesson, and they attacked him with iron rods.

We also came across a report published by the Times of India on 20 February that included a statement from Ajay Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO), Sunam City Police Station. He informed that the incident took place on 15 February and six people, including Mani Singh and his mother, had been charged for attempted murder. The other accused were Kuldeep Singh, Amrik Singh, Lavi Singh, and Gopal Singh. The assailants fled from the spot and the victim was admitted to the hospital.

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Taking account of all these evidences, it is clear that an old incident of personal enmity from Sangrur district in Punjab was falsely shared as a Christian man being attacked by a mob in Uttar Pradesh. 

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. 

The viral video depicts an incident that occurred in Jagatpura village in the Sunam area of Sangrur district, Punjab, in February 2023. There is no communal angle to the incident.