Fact check: Viral video of police assault is old — not from K'taka [truth here]

An old video of a police assault on a civilian has gone viral with a false context that it occurred in Karnataka during the current lockdown.

Due to the rising COVID cases, Karnataka, like many other states, imposed a complete lockdown in hopes to break the chain of COVID transmission. Just two days into the lockdown, several videos and photos have come to light wherein the police officers were seen using excessive force on those who violated the norms. After the direction of senior officers, a lathi-less lockdown has been ordered on grassroot level. Despite that, another video has gone viral, drawing criticism towards Karnataka state police.

The claim

A video is widely circulated on social media and in WhatsApp groups, wherein police officers are seen thrashing a civilian. With a voice over in Kannada, it is claimed that the video was shot in during Karnataka lockdown. The female's voice identifies herself as Padma Harish and can be heard abusing the Karnataka state police officers and even instigating the people to retaliate and attack the police.

Following the circulation of the video, many people reacted strongly against the actions of the police officers. Hence, the intention of disrupting harmony was achieved to an extent, although no retaliation was reported.

Fact check

International Business Times reviewed the video in circulation. While the visuals in the video don't appear to be doctored, the voiceover has been superimposed on a different video. The Kannada voiceover gives the impression that the incident took place somewhere in Karnataka, but no major outlet has reported it.

A Google reverse image search of a screenshot from the video with a brief description brings up an old incident dating back to April 3, 2020. Upon follow-up search, it is clear that the video in circulation is old and took place in Vasai in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Several media outlets had reported the incident last year and the video was widely circulated back then.

The Karnataka State Police Fact Check team also discredited the video and said that it is "contemplating legal action against the said person Padma Harish for causing ill will against police and instigating public to attack based on false narrative."

This gives clear indication that the allegations made against the Karnataka state police in the video are baseless. No such incident took place in Karnataka, let alone during the current lockdown. Hence, International Business Times dismiss the video as misleading.