A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) shows armed forces personnel allegedly assaulting a Christian woman in Manipur. Let’s find out the truth behind the video in this article.
Claim: A video shows armed forces personnel assaulting a Christian woman in Manipur.
Fact: The incident in the video occurred in July 2024. The woman in the viral video is Ibem Begum, a Muslim from Hapta Golapati, Manipur, and is known to be a drug dealer. The video depicts an internal community issue, with the UNLF’s Ningol Brigade punishing her for drug dealing. The Manipur Police clarified that she is Muslim and confirmed there is no communal angle involved. They also informed that she was beaten by a group of UNLF members for alleged drug trafficking. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to a Facebook post on the ‘Manipur Fact Check’ page dated 23 July 2024. The post includes a video showing the same incident, with visuals of the same woman featured in the viral video. According to ‘Manipur Fact Check’, the victim as Ibem Begum from Hapta Golapati, Imphal, Manipur, an area troubled by drug-related violence. Local sources reportedly confirmed that she is a known drug dealer. The post claims the assailants, identified by logos as members of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF), are Muslims, and suggests the video shows an internal community issue where the UNLF’s Ningol Brigade is punishing a woman for drug dealing.
According to reports, a faction of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), a Meitei insurgent group, signed a peace pact with the Union and state governments in November 2023 (here, here, and here).
Further investigation led us to a clarification from the Manipur Police on their official X (Twitter) handle regarding the viral video. The post stated: “#FAKE Miscreants beat up a woman allegedly involved in drug peddling. The police have registered a case, and there is no communal angle involved.”
We also found several posts on Facebook (here and here) indicating that the victim in the viral video was a drug dealer. One of the posts features a press release dated 17 July 2024, issued by an organization called the Manipur Meitei Pangan Revolutionary Army (MMPRA). According to this press note, Muslims are known as Pangals or Pangans in the Meitei dialect. The release in Meitei states that no other organization will be allowed to interfere with the regulation of drug sales and consumption in the Pangal community, except the MMPRA. The press release also lists the names of the alleged drug kingpin Mohammed Taj Khan and his family members, including Mumtaz, alias Ibem Begum.
Earlier, when the same video went viral with a different claim alleging an attack on a Muslim woman by Hindus in Manipur, Factly debunked the claim (here).
Our team contacted the Manipur Police to gather more information about the viral video when it first went viral. A senior police official from the Manipur Cyber Crime Wing confirmed to Factly that the incident was indeed from Manipur and stated that the woman beaten in the viral video is Muslim and there is no communal angle involved. The official also mentioned that the woman was beaten by a group of UNLF members for alleged drug trafficking.
To sum up, an old July 2024 video showing a Muslim woman beaten by UNLF members in a drug case is falsely shared as a Christian being assaulted.
