No, This Disturbing Video Doesn't Show Brutal Murder Of Bihari Migrant In Tamil Nadu

A disturbing video showing a brutally assaulted man bleeding out on the road as bystanders stand around is going viral across social media. The video is going viral with the claim that it shows a migrant worker from Bihar being attacked in Tamil Nadu.

Over the past few days, social media has been witnessing a surge in posts about migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh being under attack in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) Sylendra Babu dismissed rumours of any assaults and warned that strict action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. The state police registered a complaint against OpIndia Chief Executive Rahul Roushan and its Editor-in-Chief Nupur J Sharma for allegedly spreading misinformation on its portal.

The Tamil Nadu police have registered 11 cases and arrested three persons for spreading rumours about the safety of migrant workers in Tamil Nadu, as per Director General of Police C. Sylendra Babu.

Claim:

The viral video shows a man lying in a pool of blood.

The viral tweet by Abhishek Mishra, the IT head of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s (BJYM) Mehrauli unit in Delhi, reads, "Biharis are being killed in Tamil Nadu, but the ruling Nitish Kumar government of Bihar is sitting with folded hands!"

[Trigger Warning: The Logical Indian is not embedding the video due to its sensitive graphic visuals. Click here to watch the video.]

Another Twitter user shared the video with the claim, "In Tamil Nadu, why are people being killed? PM Modi ji, I appeal to you to send my Bihari brothers home."

Fact Check:

We examined the video repeatedly and noticed people in the background conversing in Kannada. People can be heard saying, “Who did this to him?”, “Someone stabbed him”, and “Please call the ambulance” in Kannada.

We then conducted a keyword search for incidents in Karnataka where a youth was brutally stabbed. We came across a report by The New Indian Express published on February 18, 2023, titled, 'Two murdered over car parking in Karnataka'.

The report identifies the two deceased who were stabbed to death by a group of assailants in Doddabelavangala village in Doddaballapura taluk, on the city outskirts, on February 17, 2023.

"It is suspected that the murders were a fallout of a fight during a cricket tournament organised by the villagers for the Maha Shivaratri festival. The victims are P Bharath (22), an engineering graduate and employee with a private firm, and Prateesh (16), an 1st year PU student, and residents of Doddabelavangala village," the New Indian Express report reads.

A Deccan Herald report published on February 18, 2023, noted that Bharath Kumar (23) and Prateek (17) were murdered during an altercation at a sports tournament at Doddabelavangala, located at a distance of 54 km northwest of Bengaluru. Prateek was stabbed with a dagger that remained inserted in his private parts. Bharath Kumar was stabbed in the lower abdomen.

The Deccan Herald report quotes Mallikarjun Baldandi, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru District. Baldandi reportedly said assailants drove up to the ground in a car and tried to park inside the ground, but the players and organizers objected.

In the following argument, the crowd smashed the car's glass. The assailants left for the police station but didn't file a complaint. "Their car was again stopped and vandalized by those who took part in the tournament. While the four escaped, they ran into Kumar and Prateek, who were wearing T-shirts provided by the organizers. The men stabbed the two though they were not part of the crowd that smashed the car, a police source said.

"Instead of driving to the parking lot outside the ground, the four men drove into the ground, which led to the clash," the Deccan Herald report quotes Baldandi.

The Deccan Herald report also contained an image of Prateek, which we compared with the person seen in the viral video and noticed that they were the same person.

A Hindu report published on February 20, 2023, noted that Doddabelavangala police shot at two accused in the double murder case of Bharath and Prateek after they retaliated against the police when they demanded to surrender.

According to the police, the accused, Vinay, 30, and Trimurthy, 27, are part of a six-member gang and have been on the run, since committing the crime.

Conclusion:

We found that the claim that the viral video shows a Bihari migrant brutally assaulted in Tamil Nadu is false. The video is from an incident where Bharath Kumar (23) and Prateek (17) were stabbed to death during an argument at a sports tournament at Doddabelavangala, located at a distance of 54 km northwest of Bengaluru. The video is entirely unrelated to the allegations of attacks on migrant workers in Tamil Nadu.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

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