A disturbing video showing a woman being thrashed by a policeman has surfaced with claims that the incident is from Sandeshkhali, West Bengal.
BOOM found that the incident occurred in Baduria, West Bengal, where locals clashed with police personnel in 2020. The confrontation took place when the locals blocked the road, alleging improper distribution of ration material during the Coronavirus lockdown.
There have been widespread allegations of violence and sexual assault meted out to women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali by local Trinamool Congress leaders Sheikh Shah Jahan, Shib Prasad Hajra and Uttam Sardar. Sheikh Shahjahan, who had been evading arrest for nearly two months, was apprehended by the West Bengal police on February 29, 2023, with people of Sandeshkhali erupting in joy and distributing sweets. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in one of his recent public address said the TMC leaders had crossed all boundaries in their actions against women of Sandeshkhali.
A verified X user posted the video with a Hindi caption that translates to, "No no, women are not being punished in any country under Sharia. Mamta didi's police are chasing and beating women in Sandeshkhali."
(Original Text in Hindi: नहीं नहीं शरिया के तहत किसी मुल्क में महिला को सजा नहीं दी जा रही है ये बल्कि संदेशख़ाली में महिलाओं को दौड़ा दौड़ा कर पीट रही है ममता दीदी की पुलिस)
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Fact Check
BOOM conducted a keyword search for 'Clash Police West Bengal' on X and found that news agency ANI had shared an extended version of the same video from its official account on April 22, 2020.
The news agency shared the video along with the caption, "WATCH: Locals clash with Police personnel after they (locals) had blocked the road alleging improper distribution of ration material amid Coronavirus Lockdown in Baduria, North 24 Parganas. West Bengal".
Click here to view the post.
We then ran a keyword search in Bengali and found several news articles reporting the altercation that occurred in Baduria, West Bengal, at that time.
Anandabazar Patrika Online reported that the incident occurred on April 22, 2020, in the Taragunia area of Ward No. 9 in Baduria Municipality. A group of residents had blocked the Kholapota-Baduria road earlier that morning. According to local residents, when the police from Baduria police station arrived to clear the road blockade, they allegedly attacked the protesters and began indiscriminately beating them.
The report also added that the police's actions sparked a clash with the villagers, who retaliated by throwing bricks and stones at the police.
The Bengali news channel ABP Ananda also covered the incident on April 22, 2020. The report can be watched below.