A 2018 incident of two female bus conductors of Himachal Road Transport Corporation beating a union leader with slippers is being shared with a false claim that the man being assaulted a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in the state.
The video shows two women trying to step closer to a man under the pretext of garlanding him and then one removes her slipper and beats him with it.
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The caption when translated reads, "What a great welcome to the BJP MLA by this woman, for such women (clapping emoji)"
(In Hindi - BJP विधायक का क्या लाजवाब स्वागत कि है इस महिला ने , ऐसी महिलाओं के लिए)
The text on the video reads, "बीपी विधायक का स्वागत जूतो से किया गया हमीरपुर मैं और करो जुमलेबाजी", which translates to " BJP MLA was welcomed with shoes in Hamirpur"
Viral on Twitter
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FACT-CHECK
Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Union President not BJP MLA
While viewing the video one can spot a banner which reads, 'Himachal Parivahan Mazdoor Sangh', and a date, 'June 22 , 2018'.
Screenshot from the viral video
We then searched online with the keywords, "Himachal Parivahan Mazdoor Sangh" and found media reports from June 2018.
Amar Ujala article
In an article published by Amar Ujala, the photo used matches a still from the viral video.
Amar Ujala identified the man as Shankar Singh Thakur, state president of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) union who was attacked by two female trainee conductors while attending a union meeting in Hamirpur on June 23, 2018.
The two women had accused Thakur of leaking an audio clip about them and beat him up for the same reason.
The two trainee women conductors were later discharged from their jobs reported Jagran on June 28, 2018.
Viral since July 2018
The video has been viral on Facebook with the misleading caption since August 2018.
Viral on Facebook
This was earlier fact-checked by India Today who spoke to Thakur, who had said that he had no links with the BJP, but was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
