2021 Clip of SP Leader Beaten Linked To Recent Rana Sanga Controversy

A video showing a crowd attacking a man as some police officers standby is being shared on social media.

The claim: The clip is circulating with the claim that Vishwa Hindu Parishad () and Karni Sena members were demonstrating in tribute to Rana Sanga, (a ruler in in the 1500s) during which(SP) leader Mahendra Yadav was assaulted in Mau, Uttar Pradesh.

Some context: Recently, Rajya Sabha MP from UP Ramji Lal Suman from SP labelled Rana Sanga 'a traitor' during a parliament session. This led to Karni Sena members attacking the politician's house in Agra, as reported the .

An archive of the post can be found . 

(Archives of similar claims can be found and .)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• This video is not recent and dates back to 2021. Back then, Karni Sena accused SP leader Chauhan of using abusive language against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, leading to the alleged assault in Mau.

• It is unrelated to the recent controversy involving the historical figure.

What we found: We divided the video into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• We found a video posted by SP's official X (formerly Twitter) page featuring the same video, which was uploaded on 1 February 2021.

• It noted that Chauhan was assaulted by "goons of the ruling party in Mau's collectorate premises in the presence of police is a result of the jungle raj prevailing in the state." (sic.)

मऊ में पुलिस की मौजूदगी में सत्ता के गुंडों द्वारा कलेक्ट्रेट परिसर में सपा नेता महेंद्र चौहान से मारपीट प्रदेश में चल रहे जंगलराज की देन है, घोर निंदनीय!

वीडियो फुटेज के आधार पर दोषियों के खिलाफ कठोरतम कार्रवाई करे प्रशासन।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/6TwEnMJBoT

— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) February 1, 2021

• We, then, ran a relevant keyword search and found reports from 2021 featuring similar frames.

• and reported that Karni Sena had accused Chauhan of using offensive language toward CM Adityanath. Karni Sena workers assaulted the SP leader over this.

• However, Chauhan claimed that the religious outfit had circulated a video in which they were shown striking a poster of Cabinet Minister Dara Singh Chauhan with their shoes, which the politician opposed.

• Later, the police took action against the alleged assaulters.

Conclusion: An old video from 2021 showing a man being assaulted has been falsely linked to the recent controversy around SP's Lal Suman for his comments on Rana Sanga in the parliament.

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