A disturbing CCTV footage showing a Tamil Nadu DMK leader brutally assaulting a woman has gone viral with a false caption claiming it to be an attack on an on-duty lady doctor in the state. BOOM found out that the viral clip is from 2018 and the woman under attack was not a lady doctor. The assaulter, a local DMK leader was expelled from the party for his act, and later arrested.
The two-minute-long viral clip shows a man clad in a white shirt and veshti kicking and slapping a woman while onlookers try to intervene. All of this takes place inside a room where one can see several chairs lying around. The viral clip has been overlaid with loud music.
A caption with the clip reads 'Tamilnadu DMK party Leader Selva Kumar kicked Lady Doctor on duty. Forward this Video to all group until he will be punished, Modi ji, your chance to prove law is equal for all citizens'.
The caption in the video falsely links the old incident to an attack on medical practitioners at a time when several cases of attacks on health professionals have been reported from all across the country. Ever since the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country, there have been numerous cases where groups or individuals have attacked health and other government officials.
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Owing to the graphic nature of the video, BOOM has decided not to include the footage int his article. You can view the video here and check its archived version here.
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The video has also been shared on Twitter with the same claim.
Fact Check
A keyword search with 'DMK' and 'Selva Kumar' led us to some news reports about the incident from 2018.
An article published in The News Minute on September 13, 2018 identifies the accused as DMK councillor S Selvakumar, a resident of Annamangalam area in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu.
According to the news report, the police had said that the incident had taken place at Mayuri Beauty Parlour at Perambalur Old Bus Stand in May 2018. However, a case was registered by the victim a couple of months after the attack.
The article further states that the brutal attack by the DMK leader was result of a financial dispute between the victim and the accused.
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Wire agency ANI had tweeted the CCTV footage on September 13, 2018 with details about the case.
#WATCH Former DMK Corporator Selvakumar hits a woman at a beauty salon in Tamil Nadu's Perambalur. The incident took place on 25th May' 18. He has been arrested by the police and has been suspended from primary membership of the party (Source: CCTV footage) pic.twitter.com/B623qaLc0k
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2018
The suspended DMK functionary was later reinstated to the party, according to a news report.