A gruesome video of a water tanker running over two old women is viral on social media with misleading claims.
BOOM found that the incident took place in Amritsar, Punjab on January 26, 2021. We spoke to the station house officer of Vallah police station, Amritsar, who confirmed to us that the incident was an accident and not a pre-planned act by a disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party worker as claimed by some social media posts.
The video is viral in the backdrop of the violence that had erupted on the sidelines of the tractor parade organised by protesting farmers in Delhi on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26. The call for a tractor parade on January 26 had been given by the farmers' union protesting against the three farm laws passed by the Centre last year. The parade later turned violent as the protesters entered the Red Fort premises and hoisted a religious flag from the rampart. One farmer lost his life and several policemen were injured during violent clashes between farmers and police personnel.
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The viral video shows a tractor trampling two old women and moving for some metres before it stops.
BOOM has not included the video owing to its disturbing nature.
Former Delhi MLA Alka Lamba tweeted the video with a Hindi caption translating to 'O God. This is terrible. There are allegations that a BJP worker ran over old women farmers who were on their way to participate in the farmers' protest...did any media house run these pictures and question BJP leaders? Shameful and hurtful'.
(Hindi: हे राम.. :(, घोर अनर्थ आरोप है कि किसान आंदोलन में हिस्सा लेने पहुँच रही बुजुर्ग महिला किसानों को गुस्से में #BJP के कार्यकर्ता ने कुछ रोंद डाला...किसी मीडिया ने यह तस्वीरें दिखा क्या BJP नेताओं से सवाल किए..? शर्मनाक - पीड़ादायक )
The video has also been shared on Facebook with a similar caption in Hindi claiming 'The Sanghi goons of RSS ran their tractor over old women today. Three old women were brutally murdered. These elderly women were portestinga against the Farm laws on the road. The protests were being carried out under the banner of farmers unions'.
(Hindi: आज आर एस एस के संघी गुनडों ने बज़ुरग महिलाओं पर चढ़ा दिया टरैकटर। तीन बज़ुरग महिलाओं की कर दी दर्द भरी हततिया। तीनों की हुई मौत। यह बज़ुरग महिलायें सड़क पर कर रहीं थीं कृषि कानूनों के विरुद्ध परदरशन। किसान मोरचे के बैनर तले हो रहा था परदरशन)
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a keyword search with 'water tanker runs over old women' and found several reports detailing the incident.
According to a report published in NDTV on January 26, 2021, the incident took place on January 26 when a water tanker ran over a group of women in Vallah, Amritsar in Punjab. The news report stated that while two women had died, three had sustained grievous injuries.
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Another report published in Hindi daily Amar Ujala states that the women were on their way to participate in a tractor parade, call for which was given by farmers union, when a tractor driver who was loading a water tank on his trolley lost control of the vehicle and ran over the women. The driver was nabbed by the locals and handed over to the police.
None of the news reports however mention any political angle in the incident.
BOOM then contacted the SHO of Vallah police station, where the incident took place, for further details.
The SHO told BOOM that the incident was an accident and denied any political angle to it. "The tractor driver has been arrested. He had lost control on the vehicle," the SHO told BOOM.