On August 30, 2021, the official handle of Indian National Congress Uttar Pradesh posted a video which showed a woman who was tied to a cot and was being hoisted by a group of men. In this video, while none of the sentences make much sense, you can however see fields nearby. The woman too seems to look inebriated in some way. Congress UP claimed the following “मिशन शक्ति और पिंक बूथ का ढोंग करने वाले बयानवीर मुख्यमंत्री योगी आदित्यनाथ के प्रदेश की तस्वीर है। वीडियो – बुलन्दशहर से”(translation: Baanveer, who pretends to be Mission Shakti and Pink Booth, is a picture of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s state Video – From Bulandshahr.) implying that the woman’s safety was in danger and that she was being taken to the fields to be sexually harassed in some way.
The video gained 8,000 views and was posted by other users with a similar claim as well.
Fact-Check:
In order to get ahead of the curve and curb this video from going more viral, UP Police Bulandshahr’s SSP issued a statement clarifying that the woman is a mentally challenged individual who is known to get verbally abusive with her family members and her neighbors. She ran away from her home and was brought back tied to the cot in order to restrain her movements.
While her treatment was rough and probably uncalled for, the allegation that she was being taken to the fields to be raped is fake and misleading. Despite this clarification, UP Congress has not deleted the tweet or issued a clarification on their tweet.
