A video of a mob chasing a man through the streets and beating him up is going viral on social media platforms, claiming that a Congress Muslim leader named Abdul was publicly beaten for removing a saffron flag in Rajasthan (here, here, and here). In this article, we fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of a Muslim Congress leader named Abdul being beaten by people in public in Rajasthan for removing a saffron flag.
Fact: The viral video dates back to 2018 and shows an attack on Congress leader Ramkesh Meena in Rajasthan. According to reports, in April 2018, during the Bharat Bandh, a group of miscreants assaulted Ramkesh Meena in Gangapur City, located in the Sawai Madhopur district. Ramkesh Meena is the current MLA from Gangapur. He has been elected from the Gangapur constituency in the Sawai Madhopur district in the 2008, 2013, and 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To gather more information about the viral video, we conducted a Google reverse image search using keyframes from the video. This search led us to a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by a user named ‘@rajeshAadivasi’ on 06 April 2018. According to the caption of the post, the visuals in the viral video show people participating in an agitation chasing and beating Ramkesh Meena, a former MLA from Gangapur City, Rajasthan.
Taking this cue, we conducted a Google search using relevant keywords to find more details about the incident. This search led us to a report published by ‘News-18 Hindi Rajasthan’ on 07 April 2018, featuring a keyframe from the viral video. According to the report, on 02 April 2018, during the Bharat Bandh, a group of miscreants assaulted Ramkesh Meena in Gangapur City, located in the Sawai Madhopur district. The report further states that Ramkesh Meena had been sitting on a dharna in front of the subdivision office since 30 March 2018, protesting changes to the SC/ST Act. He also led the rally organized during the Bharat Bandh on 02 April 2018. During the rally, several incidents of arson and stone-pelting occurred at various locations. The report mentions that Ramkesh Meena approached the group engaged in violence in an attempt to reason with them. However, the rioters ignored him and instead attacked him. His clothes were torn as he was chased and beaten. Someone recorded a video of the incident, which later went viral on social media.
Ramkesh Meena is the current MLA of Gangapur. He was elected from the Gangapur constituency in the Sawai Madhopur district in the 2008, 2013, and 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections.
To sum up, an old video showing an attack on Congress leader Ramkesh Meena in Rajasthan is being shared with a false communal narrative.
