Recently, a video of a pleading lady requesting UP Police officers to save her from two assailants was doing the rounds on the internet.
The video of the sobbing woman calling upon the police officers to arrest her attackers had gone instantly viral on social media platforms. The principal opposition party, Congress, in its bid to mount an attack on the Yogi Adityanath government, shared the video to raise questions on the law and order situation in the state.
गोदी मीडिया के फेक सर्वे में तथाकथित सर्वश्रेष्ठ मुख्यमंत्री के लखनऊ में बेखौफ शोहदों ने सरेराह युवती को पीटकर किया लहूलुहान।
— UP Congress (@INCUttarPradesh) January 23, 2021
हे हवाबाज मुख्यमंत्री, क्या आप बिल्कुल बेशर्म हो चुके हैं? pic.twitter.com/6e8L1sznEB
In the video, the woman could be seen sitting on the road wailing and asking the police officers surrounding her to arrest the assailants. When one of the police officers informs her that they had already arrested the culprits, she insists otherwise and points in the direction of the assaulters.
The misleading claims with the video were shared by many on social media websites. A Twitter user, who claimed himself to be a journalist but whose sympathies lied with the Congress party, shared the video of the incident to take a dig at the UP Police. The journalist, Devvesh Pandey, claimed that the lady was so badly beaten by the goons that her mouth was injured.
लखनऊ में महिला सशक्तिकरण का उदाहरण देखिए..
— Devvesh Pandey | देवेश पांडेय | دیویش پانڈے۔ (@iamdevv23) January 23, 2021
हजरतगंज चौराहे से कुछ दूर पार्क रोड पर बेख़ौफ़ शोहदों ने सरेराह युवती की बेरहमी से पीटा.. युवती ने जबरदस्ती करने का आरोप लगाया है..
युवती को इतनी बुरी तरह से पीटा कि मुंह से खून आ गया वो बेहोश तक हो गई थी। @rohini_sgh @yogitabhayana pic.twitter.com/KSwsPKcE5d
Was the woman beaten by goons as alleged by the Congress party?
While the Congress party attempted to paint Uttar Pradesh as lawless, a state where goons could carry out their illegal activities with impunity, the reality of the video is starkly different than what Congress would have us believe.
According to a report published on Aaj Tak, late on Friday night, when the woman saw police patrolling the streets of Lucknow, she approached the police officials and complained of being assaulted by two people. When the police arrested the two individuals and took them to the police station, the woman backtracked from her earlier assertion and refused to press charge against the accused. She said one of them is her brother and the other one is her husband.
The Uttar Pradesh Police, nevertheless, took action against the two accused in the case. The official Twitter account of the Police Commissionerate Lucknow informed that the woman had refused to press charges against the accused, but preventive action is being taken against them.
प्रकरण में SHO हजरतगंज द्वारा बताया गया कि पत्नी द्वारा तहरीर देने से मना किया गया, दोनों अभियुक्तों के विरूद्ध निरोधात्मक कार्यवाही की जा रही है ।
— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) January 23, 2021
According to Police DCP Central Zone Somen Verma, two youths, along with a young woman, were creating a ruckus at the Hazratganj intersection. The girl had fallen on the road and blood was streaming down from her mouth. Verma said when the girl was asked about the incident later, she could not later recollect what had transpired. All the three were in an inebriated state, the police officer said.
Though the woman alleged that one of the men is her husband and the other one is her brother, it is yet to be proved, Verma said. The police have charged the two accused under Section 151 for breaching the peace and sent the woman home.
