A video is being widely shared on social media showing a man beating two women with a shoe while several people stand nearby. Users sharing the video claim that it is from Himachal Pradesh, where a Hindutva mob publicly assaulted two Muslim women.
Sharing the video, an X user named All India Muslim Forum wrote in English: “In Himachal Pradesh, Muslim women are being assaulted in public by Hindutva terrorists in front of a crowd.” The post has gone viral on social media, receiving over 4,500 likes and 3,300 reposts.
Another user named Nad also shared the same video with an identical caption.
Fact Check:
DFRAC’s investigation found that the women seen in the video are not Muslims, and the incident has no communal angle. According to available information, the women were assaulted after being accused of theft at a temple. Moreover, Surendra Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Nurpur Police Station in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, also denied any communal motive behind the incident.
As part of our investigation, we first extracted keyframes from the viral video and conducted a reverse image search using Google Lens. This led us to reports by ABP News and News18 Hindi, both featuring screenshots from the same video. According to ABP News, “two women were caught by local villagers on suspicion of attempting theft at the famous Nagni Mata Temple in the Nurpur area of Kangra district. As devotees gathered in large numbers inside the temple premises, suspicion arose that the women had committed theft. Enraged villagers surrounded them and assaulted them with shoes.“
Similarly, News18 Hindi reported that during the famous Nagni Mata Fair in Nurpur, some people took the law into their own hands and brutally assaulted two women on suspicion of theft. The crowd allegedly beat them with slippers and sticks while someone recorded the incident, which later went viral on social media. Following the circulation of the video, Nurpur Police immediately took suo motu cognizance of the case due to its seriousness and sensitivity.( English Translation)
During further investigation, we found an official post by the Himachal Pradesh Police on X regarding the viral video. The police stated that a case had been registered at Police District Nurpur under Sections 126(2), 115(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The post further stated that a fair and thorough investigation was underway and warned that strict legal action would be taken against anyone found taking the law into their own hands. The police also appealed to the public not to share unverified or misleading content and to provide any authentic information related to the incident.
To gather further details, DFRAC contacted Surendra Kumar, SHO of Nurpur Police Station. He categorically denied the viral claim and confirmed that the accused women are not Muslims and that the incident has no communal angle. He further clarified that the claim alleging a Hindu mob assaulted Muslim women is completely false.
Conclusion
DFRAC’s fact-check clearly establishes that the viral video of women being assaulted in Himachal Pradesh has no communal angle, and the women involved are not Muslims. According to media reports, they were assaulted on suspicion of theft at a temple. Therefore, the claim being circulated on social media is misleading.
Sources:
- ABP News
- News-18 Hindi
- Himachal Pradesh Police X handle
