An upsetting video clip of a minor girl being viciously assaulted by a woman is viral on Indian social media with some users on WhatsApp making a false and racist claim that the woman is a babysitter from the North East.
BOOM received the video, documenting the hellish abuse, on its helpline from a reader. We have decided not to include the actual video.
The clip is also being shared widely on Twitter with netizens from India demanding that the woman be identified and arrested.
The video of nearly three minutes shows the woman first stamping on each leg of the child and then proceeding to stamp her face, chest, pelvic region and also sit on the child's face. One can hear music playing in the background and the child crying in pain. The woman's face cannot be seen. But a prominent tattoo can be spotted on her ankle.
A reverse image search for one of the keyframes of the video led us to news reports which said the video was first viral in social media groups in Texas, United States of America.
Corpus Christi Police Department in Texas started investigating the video after it was notified by local residents, according to a news article by The Mirror.
We also found a Facebook post dated November 8, 2019 by the official account of the Corpus Christi Police Department asking people to come forward and report any information about the video.
While the video uploaded by the Corpus Christi Police Department has the same woman and child, it shows a slightly different sequence of events with the woman crushing the child by sitting on her.
The police also uploaded a photo of a tattoo visible on the woman's ankle as an identification mark.
Read the post by the Corpus Christi police here. NOTE: The Facebook post contains the video, discretion is advised.
A few days later, on November 11, the Corpus Christi Police Department put out another statement saying that the video is likely from Mexico.
"At this time all indications are that the incident did not occur in our jurisdiction and that it occurred in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. We have also received information that this incident may have happened over a year ago. We are working to identify the specific location of occurrence in Mexico so that the Child Protective Services equivalent in Mexico can be notified, and an investigation can be performed." - Corpus Christi Police Department said in a statement.
Corpus Christi Police Department did not immediately respond to voice messages and an email from BOOM.
BOOM also looked for news articles in Spanish and found several news reports about the video.
A Spanish news outlet Agencia El Universal also reported the story on November 11, and said, "The General Directorate of Investigations and the Civil Force Cyber Police of the Secretariat of Public Security of the State of Nuevo León, initiated an investigation into facts that involve mistreatment of a minor, disclosed through a video that has become viral on social networks and that has caused outrage among users. Likewise, he gave part of the case and its inquiries to the State Attorney General's Office."
Several other local newspapers carried the story citing that the Corpus Christi Police Department had informed the local Nuevo León police about the video. Read here and here.
The video has sparked outrage among social media users in Mexico.
A few Spanish websites claim the cyber police in Nuevo León have identified the woman. However, BOOM could not independently verify the same.
Given that the video was first viral in Texas and Corpus Christi police stated it could be from Mexico, it is unlikely that the video is from India or involves individuals from the North East part of the country.