Social Media Posts Claiming Man Attacked In Video Was Bhagwant Mann Are False

Multiple social media users shared a video of a mob attacking a man wearing turban, claiming that he was Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. In its investigation, the Desk found that the man in the video was one Amandeep Singh Boparai, president of an outfit named Yuva Jatt Sabha, who was attacked in Jammu in April this year. The video was shared on social media with a false claim. 

Claim

An Instagram user shared on May 13 a video of a group of men attacking a man wearing turban and policemen struggling to save him. The user claimed that the man beaten up was Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

The caption of the post read: “देखो मुख्यमंत्री भगवत मान कि कैसे पिटाई हुई है!”

An English translation of the caption read, “See how Chief Minister Bhagwat Mann has been beaten!”

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

Starting the investigation, the Desk ran the video through InVid Tool Search and found several keyframes. On running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk found several posts carrying the same video with similar claims. 

Three such posts can be viewed here, here and here, and their archived versions can be seen here, here and here respectively.

Several X users also shared the video with the same claim. Three such posts can be viewed here, here and here and their archived versions can be found here, here and here, respectively.

On further scanning the search results, the Desk came across a video posted on Facebook by one JK Rozana News, on April 13, 2024.

The caption of the post read, “Breaking Jammu - युवा जाट सभा की रैली मे हुआ हंगामा Amandeep Singh Boparai Page पर हुआ हमला @followers JK Rozana News”

An English translation of the caption read, “Breaking Jammu - Uproar in Yuva Jat Sabha rally, Amandeep Singh Boparai Page attacked @followers JK Rozana News”

Here is the link and archive link to the post, and below is a screenshot of the same:

The Desk noticed that this was the same video as the one shared on social media. Below is a combination image, showing the sequence of events from the same incident.

Further, the Desk scanned the social media handles of Amandeep Singh Boparai (Twitter and Facebook) and came across another video posted by him, giving details about the incident.

The caption of the Facebook livestream video, dated April 13, read: “It was Pre planned attack on Yuva Jatt Sabha Jammu Kashmir rally to create Hindu Sikh rift during elections.
#yuvajattsabha #jammu”

Here is the link and archive link to the video and below is a screenshot of the same:

Taking a cue from this, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google and came across a report by Punjab Kesari regarding the same incident.

The title of the report read: “युवा जाट सभा:- पाकिस्तान की साज़िश पर युवा जाट सभा की रैली में हुआ हंगामा”

An English translation to the post read, “Yuva Jat Sabha:- Ruckus in the rally of Yuva Jat Sabha over Pakistan's conspiracy”

Here is the link and archive link to the report and below is a screenshot of the same:

Subsequently, the Desk found that the man getting attacked in the viral video was Amandeep Singh Boparai, the president of Yuva Jatt Sabha, and not Bhagwant Mann.

CLAIM

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann attacked by a mob.

FACT

The man in the video was Amandeep Singh Boparai, president of Yuva Jatt Sabha, who was attacked in Jammu in April this year.

CONCLUSION

Several social media users shared a video of a mob attacking a man, claiming he was Punja CM Bhagwant Mann. In its investigation, the Desk found that the man in the viral video was Amandeep Singh Boparai, the president of an outfit named Yuva Jatt Sabha, who was attacked in Jammu. An unrelated video was shared on social media with false claim.

(This story was originally published by PTI, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)