New Delhi, May 21 (PTI Fact Check): A Facebook user shared a video which showed an e-rickshaw carrying some policemen getting overturned in a waterlogged street. The policemen can later be seen struggling to get out of the vehicle. The user shared the video with hashtags related to the ongoing floods in Assam. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found the video to be old and unrelated to the present situation in Assam.
The video was shared on social media at a time when torrential rains have caused a havoc in several parts of the state, affecting over 6.5 lakh people in over 20 districts of the state. Silchar has been one of the worst-hit districts from the floods.
Claim
A Facebook user shared a video of an e-rickshaw carrying some policemen which overturned in a waterlogged street, possibly due to a pothole. The policemen can later be seen struggling to get out of the vehicle as one man is seen walking towards them to offer help.
The video was shared with hashtags that indicated the video was related to the recent floods in Assam.
“#Silchar #BarakValley #AssamFloods,” read the May 19 post.
Here is the link and archive link to the Facebook post.
Investigation
The Desk started the investigation with an InVid Tool Search on the 25-second video, which provided a few keyframes. A Google Reverse Image Search on one of the keyframes led to a report by NDTV, published on Oct 9, 2021.
“पुलिसवाले ई-रिक्शा पर बैठकर जा रहे थे, तभी सड़क पर भरे पानी में पलट गया रिक्शा, IPS बोला- Khatron Ke Khiladi - देखें Video,” read the headline of the news report.
An English translation of the headline read: “The policemen were going on an e-rickshaw, then rickshaw overturned on a flooded road, IPS said - Khatron Ke Khiladi - watch video”.
Here is the link to the report and below is a screenshot of the same:
The feature image of the article was the same as the visuals of the video shared in the Facebook post.
The news report included a Twitter post by IPS Rupin Sharma who shared the same video an shared in the viral Facebook post.
Taking a cue from the date of publishing of the NDTV report, the Desk conducted a customised Google search with specific keywords, which led to a report by Dainik Bhaskar, dated Oct 1, 2021.
“गंदे पानी में गिरे पुलिसवाले, LIVE VIDEO: बारिश के पानी के कारण नहीं दिखा गहरा गड्ढा, 5 चालानी गार्ड को लेकर जा रहा ऑटो फंसकर पलटा (Policemen fell in dirty water, LIVE VIDEO: Deep pit not visible due to rain water, auto carrying 5 Chalani guards got stuck and overturned).”
Here is the link to the report.
Carrying the same video, the report stated that the incident took place in Bandikui town of Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
The Desk also came across a report by Navbharat Times, which carried the same video. This report also stated that the incident took place in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
Here is the link to the Oct 2 news report.
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that an old and unrelated video from Rajasthan was shared as recent on social media and falsely link to the recent floods in Assam.
Claim
A video of an e-rickshaw carrying policemen, which overturned on a waterlogged road, shared with hashtags related to recent floods in Assam.
Fact
The video dated back to October 2021 and was of an incident that took place in Rajasthan’s Dausa district.
Conclusion
A social media user shared a video of an e-rickshaw carrying policemen overturning on a waterlogged road, possibly due to a ditch or a pothole. The user shared the video with hashtags related to the recent floods in Assam. The Desk found in its investigation that the video was an incident that took place in Rajashthan’s Dausa district in October 2021. The video was shared as recent, falsely relating it to the recent Assam floods, in social media post.
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