A video showing an injured woman crying and speaking to her father over the phone about an alleged assault is being widely circulated on social media. Several users have linked the video to a protest by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and claimed that the woman was assaulted after allegedly using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother during the protest.
Sharing the video, a user named Arun Yadav wrote, ‘“Oh… there, there… Did you ask your father before abusing Modi Ji and his late mother?’
Another user, Kamal Narayan Mishra, shared the same video and wrote, ‘DD got scared, oh there, there, DD got scared. Did you ask your father before abusing Modi Ji and his late mother?’
Several other social media users also circulated the video with similar claims. Some posts further alleged that the woman was assaulted by members of the Bajrang Dal.
Fact Check
The Times Headline investigation found that the claim is misleading. The viral video is not connected to the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. Instead, it is related to an alleged dispute between a husband and wife at a family court in Varanasi. The Varanasi Cantt Police have also denied any connection between the incident and the CJP protest.
To verify the viral video, the Times Headline team extracted key frames from it and conducted a reverse image search using Google Lens. The same video was found uploaded on the News18 India YouTube channel on July 18. The video was published with the caption, ‘Uproar in Varanasi court! Life-threatening attack on wife.’.
The team then conducted further searches using relevant keywords to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. Reports published by Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran and Prabhat Khabar, among other media outlets, were found during the investigation.
According to a report by Dainik Jagran, a case involving the alleged assault of a woman and the alleged snatching of her chain by her husband came to light at the family court in the Cantt police station area. The incident was subsequently widely circulated on social media. The woman reportedly filed a complaint with the police, following which a case was registered and an investigation was initiated.
Meanwhile, a report by Amar Ujala stated that, according to police, Archana Mishra, a resident of Khargupur under the Jansa police station area, had reached the family court at around 11:45 am on Thursday to pursue a legal case. She allegedly faced inappropriate behaviour from her husband, Akhand Pratap Upadhyay. According to the allegations, he verbally abused her and made objectionable remarks about her character. When she objected, he allegedly assaulted her. The woman further alleged that her gold chain and locket were snatched during the altercation.
A report by Prabhat Khabar also stated that a commotion broke out at the family court in Varanasi’s Cantt police station area after a woman accused her husband of assault. According to the report, Archana Mishra, a resident of Khargupur in the Jansa police station area, had arrived at the family court at around 11:45 am to pursue her case. She alleged that her husband, Akhand Pratap Upadhyay, who is a resident of Gadkhara under the Sindhora police station area, was already present on the court premises. According to her complaint, he allegedly began verbally abusing her and made objectionable remarks about her character.
For further verification, the Times Headline team contacted the Varanasi Cantt Police. The police denied the viral claim linking the incident to the CJP protest and stated that there was no connection between the family court incident and the protest.
Conclusion
The Times Headline fact-check found that the viral claim is misleading. The video is related to an alleged dispute between a husband and wife at a family court in Varanasi and has no connection with the CJP protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Therefore, the claim circulating on social media that the woman was assaulted in connection with the protest is not supported by the available evidence.