A video shared on social media shows a man in civilian clothes and a cop beating those not wearing masks. Twitter user Devesh tweeted this 20-second video and wrote, “Now this is how a collector should be. They should do this in our Raipur as well.” It amassed more than 5,900 views at the time of writing. (Archive link)
कलेक्टर हो तो ऐसे। हमारे रायपुर मे भी ऐसा होना चाहिए । @ipskabra @ankidurg @CG_Police pic.twitter.com/t3EGV802V9
— देवेश (@DeveshDew) April 2, 2021
The final few seconds of this clip are being shared separately, with users identifying the man in civilian clothes as Dr Sarveshwar Bhure, Collector of Chhattisgarh’s Durg district. Twitter handle ‘GM NEWS MP-CG’ also identified him as the Collector of Durg. (Archive link)
दुर्ग – कलेक्टर डॉक्टर सर्वेश्वर भूरे ने भांजी लाठी।डंडा लेकर सड़क पर निकले। बिना मास्क लगाए दुकानदारों पर चलाया डंडा। बिना मास्क वाले वाहन चालक भी कलेक्टर के चपेट में आये। दुर्ग जिले में रोजाना हजार के ऊपर कोरोना मामले आ रहे है। लोगों पर सख्ती बरतने अब प्रशासन सड़क पर । pic.twitter.com/WLt5EcQOtw
— GM NEWS MP-CG (@GMNEWS33195849) April 2, 2021
We also received a request to investigate the clip on Alt News official mobile app.
Fact-check
Bhure himself posted a screenshot of the video and issued a tweet stating neither was he in the video nor were the visuals from Durg.
This video is getting viral in my name and in the name of district collector Durg Bhilai. Person in this video is not me and this video is not related to District Durg. Please use mask, take care of elderly. Behave responsibly. pic.twitter.com/kaN31EROOQ
— Sarveshwar Bhure IAS (@SarveshNBhure) April 2, 2021
After taking a closer look, we noticed a hoarding of a shop in the background which reads ‘Vardhman Enterprise, Chhota Nagda’. Nagda is a city in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district.
Alt News performed a keyword search and came across a post by Facebook user Surendra Shekhawat Kesur stating that the scenes are from Nagda (Chhota Nagda) village in the Badnawar region. He identified the man with the stick as SDM Virendra Katare.
जनता के सात केसा व्यवहार कर रहा है प्रशासन
? आज बदनावर क्षेत्र के गाँव नागदा ( छोटा नागदा ) मे
प्रशासनिक अधिकारी SDM वीरेंद्र कटारे द्वारा आम जनता से दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण व्यवहार किया जो की गलत हे l
? आप जनता के सेवक हे l आप चाहते तो जनता को मास्क बाटकर भी जागरूक कर सकते थे l
जो कि अपने किया ही नहीं l
लाठी चार्ज करना हर समस्या का हल नहीं है lPosted by सुरेंद्र शेखावत केसुर on Wednesday, March 31, 2021
YouTube channel ‘Dhar News Channel’ uploaded a video dated March 31 where the scenes from the viral clip appear between 0:44 and 1:00 mark. The channel informed that the police launched a ‘Roko Toko’ campaign due to rising COVID-19 cases in the Dhar area. SDM Virendra Katare of Badnavar was patrolling the streets, issuing challans to those without masks, and beating them with a stick.
On March 31, Nai Dunia reported that the police had begun taking strict action against defaulters amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in Badnawar. The article states, “SDM Virendra Katare himself came with a stick in hand to beat those without masks in an effort to get residents to follow the mandated guidelines.”
A video of people beaten up for not wearing masks in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh was falsely shared as Chhattisgarh’s Durg. Furthermore, the man in the clip was wrongly identified as District Collector Sarveshwar Bhure.
The post Video from MP shared as Durg, Chhattisgarh collector beating civilians without masks appeared first on Alt News.
This post was originally published on Alt News.