On 17 March 2025, communal violence erupted in Nagpur, Maharashtra after the members of Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal staged a protest chanting slogans calling for the removal of the tomb of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Against this backdrop, a video of policemen beating two men went viral on social media linking it to the communal violence of Nagpur. Sharing the video on Facebook, users are claiming that the police are beating the Muslim students coming out of the mosque after offering Namaz in Nagpur.
Facebook Link | Archived Link.
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was false. The video is old and unrelated to the recent Nagpur violence. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by taking some screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a tweet from Prashant Bhushan, an author and lawyer, who uploaded a longer version of the video on 14 April 2022. This makes it clear that the video predates the recent Nagpur violence.
According to the text overlay on the video, the incident was from Shankar Nagar, Khargone, Madhya Pradesh.
Taking this clue, using relevant keywords we found a Hindi report published in Aaj Tak on 14 April 2022 that contained an image similar to the screenshots from the viral video. The translation of the report read, “After the violence on Ram Navami in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh (MP Khargone), the administration is in a mood of strict action. A procession was taken out on Ram Navami on Sunday in Khargone city, after which there were incidents of arson in some vehicles and houses after stone pelting. After this, a video of a youth named Saeed Sheikh and his companion being beaten up by the police in Khargone went viral. Saeed Sahid Sheikh told Aaj Tak that he had gone out to get milk for the children, during which the police beat him up mercilessly. Saeed alleges that the policemen were accusing him of rioting while beating him and despite apologizing, he was brutally beaten up. The policemen even snatched his phone along with beating him. Saeed has demanded action against the policemen. Let us tell you that on 10th April, a procession was taken out in Khargone on the occasion of Ram Navami. During this procession, some people pelted stones, after which violence broke out in the entire area. During the violence, some people also threw petrol bombs.”
Please read here. Archived Link
A video report by MP Tak can be seen below.
Other reports can be read here and here.
This makes it clear that the viral video is old and from Khargone, Madhya Pradesh.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. The viral video is not related to the recent Nagpur violence. The video is from Khargone Madhya Pradesh in 2022.
Title:Old Video From Madhya Pradesh Going Viral Linking To The Recent Nagpur Violence.
Fact Check By: Debanjana BaishyaResult: False
