Claim of Muslim Woman Beaten by Cow Worshippers in Manipur is False

Violence has been ongoing in Manipur for the last year over the protest against the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meitei community. Since then, at least 200 people have lost their lives in the state, and thousands have been displaced. Meanwhile, a video is going viral on social media in which some people are beating a woman with sticks. It is being claimed, with a communal angle, that cow worshippers (Hindus) are beating a Muslim woman in Manipur. However, our investigation found this claim to be misleading, as there is no communal angle in this incident.

Sharing the video, extremist Abu Ala Azmi wrote, “A video that the whole world should see A Muslim woman is being brutally beaten by dirty cow worshippers in the Indian state of Manipur.”

Afcq posted the video and wrote, “A video the whole world should see: A Muslim woman brutally beaten by dirty cow-worshippers in Manipur state, India.”

Baboo G wrote, ”A video the whole world must see: A Muslim woman brutally beaten by dirty cow worshippers in Manipur state, India.”

Military Tracker wrote, “Manipur horror: Meitei UNLF targets Muslims! A shocking video has emerged in which Meitei UNLF militants are brutally beating a Muslim woman and a man after tying them to a tree, they are screaming ‘Allah Allah’ in pain.”

Handle Chandni wrote, “A Muslim woman is being brutally beaten by dirty cow-protectors in the Indian state of Manipur… Share and retweet this video as much as possible!!”

Apart from X, this video was also shared on Instagram by a handle called shariaflex.

Also Read: Sadaf Afreen Purveying Misinformation Under the Pretext of Journalism

Fact Check

During our fact check research, we reverse searched the different extracted keyframes of the viral video and found the second part of the same video on the Facebook page of ‘Manipur Fact Check.’ This video was posted on 23 July 2024. During the investigation, we saw that the woman who was beating the woman with a stick had a ‘badge’ on her uniform, this badge belongs to Manipur People’s Army (MPA), the armed wing of Manipur’s banned organization United National Liberation Front (UNLF).

According to the post, the UNLF is an armed militant group composed of members from different communities. The people who beat up the woman are Muslim members of the Ningol Brigade, and they are punishing her for drug-related activities. The post further states that the woman has been identified as Ibem Begum, a resident of Hapta Golapati, Imphal. Ibem is a known drug dealer who has used her influence to evade the law. This is an internal community issue where the Ningol Brigade is punishing a woman from the same community for drug dealing.

During the investigation, we found a post on the ‘Moirang 360‘ Facebook page. In this post, the woman in the viral video can be seen speaking in the local language of Manipur.

To understand this text, we took the help of ‘Chat Gpt’. According to this, the woman was caught by the members of UNLF-MPA for being involved in drug activities.

Furthermore, we found a post on a Facebook handle. In this post, it is said that many UNLF-MPA members have been caught in the case of selling drugs. In these pictures, it can be seen that the female members of UNLF-MPA are seen wearing hijab.

We also found a post on the Facebook page of UNLF-MPA. In this post, members of this organization are seen offering Namaz during their religious festivals.

Conclusion: Investigation has revealed that the viral claim is misleading, the woman was not beaten up by Hindus. Members of the militant organization UNLF MPA in Manipur had caught the woman for being involved in drug activities. People from the Muslim community are also members of this organization.

Also Read: Propaganda: Communal Tension Falsely Attributed to the Death of Four Maulanas