Fact Check: Mob attacking police in Odisha shared as post-poll violence in West Bengal

At least 14 people have died since the West Bengal Assembly elections results were declared

All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) won the recently-concluded assembly elections on May 2. The results revealed AITC won 213 seats while the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 77 seats. Post-poll violence was reported from the state as rival political parties clashed, burning party office and looting homes. At least 14 people have died since the results were declared. While the civil society and opposition parties have blamed TMC for “victory violence”, the party has denied perpetrating the same. However, as with the case of any event, misinformation has been used on social media to add fuel to fire.

Twitter user @AdityaT009 posted a video of a mob attacking a cop and a police jeep. He used the hashtags #नींद_से_जागो_अमित_शाह_जी (Wake Up Amit Shah), #PresidentRuleInBengal, and #BengalViolence to share the video and blamed TMC for the attack.

Police is not able to save themself from this Isl@maic TMC goons, army should be deployed against this terrorists#नींद_से_जागो_अमित_शाह_जी#PresidentRuleInBengal#BengalViolence pic.twitter.com/9xOrTIyvE6

— Aditya Tambe (@AdityaT009) May 3, 2021

Facebook page DEFENCE360 with over 30,000 followers posted this video on May 4.

Also read — Bengal violence: NHRC to conduct on-the-spot probe, NCW Chairperson to visit

Aaj Tak journalist Kamlesh Singh, Twitter account Know The Nation and Twitter user @ard_007 had posted the video and later took it down.

Old video from Odisha

Kalinga TV reported that the incident in the viral video took place in Odisha’s Bhadrak district at Alinagar Square under Tihidi police jurisdiction on January 13, 2021.

The footage in the Kalinga TV broadcast at the 23-second mark matches the viral video. The identical elements are 1) Pink entrance, 2) Brown roof and 3) Police van.

This incident was also reported by The New Indian Express (TNIE) and Prameya News. “A 22-year-old youth’s fear of police ended in his death in a village of Tihidi block in Bhadrak district on Wednesday. Irked, locals set afire the police vehicle at Alinagar Chowk within Tihidi police limits in the district. Sensing trouble at the sight of police who visited his home to interrogate his brother-in-law, the victim, Bapi Mahalik, started running. Even police, due to mistaken identity, chased Bapi till he took a plunge into a pond and got into heavy algae and drowned,” reported TNIE.

A vehicle of Pirahat police station, unaware of the protests, was passing by and was attacked by locals who assumed that it was Tihidi police.

Kamlesh Singh and Know The Nation acknowledged that the video is old and deleted their erroneous tweets.

An old video of a police vehicle attacked in Odisha after the death of a youth has been falsely shared as post-poll violence in West Bengal.