A post accompanying a two-part video of former UP minister Kamal Akhtar bragging about his influence in the state, followed by a video excerpt of police personnel beating a man is being shared widely. The post claims that UP police beat Kamal Akhtar black and blue for these words. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of UP police beating former state minister Kamal Akhtar of Samajwadi Party.
Fact: Kamal Akhtar made this viral speech back in April 2021. However, there are no reports of police beating him for the speech. It is Raja Chaturvedi, SP leader who can be seen beaten up by the police in the later part of the viral video. And the incident dates back to 2011, much before the viral speech of Kamal Akhtar. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
It is clearly visible that the viral video carries the logo of the ABP Ganga News agency. Taking a cue from this we ran a keyword search on YouTube and found the ABP Ganga news report of Kamal Akhtar’s viral speech.
As per the report, while speaking in a closed meeting in Amroha, Kamal Akhtar claimed that ‘there is no such IAS or IPS officer in the state has the courage to refuse any work of him.’ However, there are no reports of police thrashing Kamal Akhtar for this speech.
Whereas, the second part of the viral video, wherein a man can be seen beaten up by the police personnel, actually dates back to 2011. Keyword search on YouTube led us to a video uploaded in April 2011. The title of the video reads ‘SAMAJWADI PARTY LEADER RAJA CHATURVEDI 21 FEB 2011 AT VIDHAN SABHA U.P.’
Taking a cue from the YouTube video, Google search with relevant keywords yielded a news article dated 23 February 2011. As per the article, Samajwadi Party workers were beaten by the police on the Vidhan Sabha Marg.
Further, upon juxtaposing images of Kamal Akhtar and Raja Chaturvedi with that of a screenshot of the above-mentioned YouTube video, it is evident that the man who is seen beaten by the police in the viral video is not Kamal Akhtar but Raja Chaturvedi.
To sum it up, an old video passed off as police thrashing SP leader Kamal Akhtar.
