Reports of clashes and violence have emerged from West Bengal since the election results were announced on May 4. Amid this, social media users widely shared a video claiming that BJP-backed goons brutally assaulted a worker of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Sharing the video, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee wrote, “TMC workers allegedly brutally attacked by BJP-backed thugs. New era!!!!”
This video has also been shared by several other users with the claim of an attack on a TMC worker, which can be seen here and here.
Fact Check:
The DFRAC team investigated the viral video and found the claim to be misleading. The video does not show an attack on a TMC worker in West Bengal. Instead, it depicts a violent assault on a young man in Versova, Maharashtra. Using reverse image search on keyframes from the viral clip, the team found a report uploaded on April 11 by the Instagram account MaharashtraNews9.
According to the report, some individuals brutally assaulted a young man named Mohammad Zaid in Versova, after which police registered a case at the Versova Police Station. The report further stated that Mohammad Zaid’s father and wife demanded justice. Police registered a case against three accused persons and arrested two of them. Authorities also launched an investigation into the possible involvement of additional individuals in the assault. (English Translation)
Another Instagram user shared the same video on April 15 and identified the location as Versova, Maharashtra.
For further verification, the DFRAC team contacted journalist Nagesh Kalsagonde from MaharashtraNews9. He confirmed that the incident took place in Versova, Mumbai, Maharashtra, and clarified that the case had no connection to West Bengal. He also stated that police had already registered an FIR and arrested the accused involved in the assault. Additionally, he shared a copy of the FIR with the team.
Conclusion:
DFRAC’s investigation clearly shows that the viral video does not depict an attack on a TMC worker in West Bengal. The footage actually belongs to an assault case reported from Versova, Maharashtra. Therefore, the claim shared by Kalyan Banerjee and several other social media users is misleading.
