Fact Check: Old video of women assaulting a man in Kerala shared with false communal spin

Against the backdrop of “The Kerala Story” and the many controversies surrounding it, a video of a group of women thrashing a man has gone viral. Many social media users, while sharing the video, alleged that the man seen in the video was Muslim and that he had misbehaved with Hindu women, who consequently flogged him.

Sharing the video, a Twitter user wrote, “In Kerala Hindu girls attacked a Muslim man for his obnoxious and shameful misbehaviour. The awakening has started in Kerala after #TheKeralaStoryMovie! Let's hope the fire rages on. This is the right way to stop Love jihad. Our girls must show their DURGA AVTAR.” The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.

India Today’s investigation revealed that the video is old and the man and the women in the video are Christians.

Our Probe

We ran a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video. It led us to news reports that contained screenshots from the viral clip. A report by News18 Malayalam, dated January 6, 2023, noted that it was a conflict between former and current members of a Kerala church. Members of the Thrissur Muriyad Emperor Emmanuel Mediation Centre reportedly assaulted former member Shaji who was travelling with his family in a car on January 6.

We also came across a report by India Today Malayalam that 11 of the 59 women who assaulted Shaji and his family were arrested. They were booked under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Per the reports, Shaji, his wife Ashlyn, son Sajan, and relatives Edwin and Anwin were beaten up by them in Muriyad. The women accused Shaji’s son of circulating a morphed nude photo of a female member of the church. According to News18 Malayalam, the police had confirmed the existence of obscene photos. However, no confirmation of Sajan spreading the photos was reported.

Church authorities also reportedly registered the case against Shaji with the Aloor Police. A senior police officer there clarified to The Quint that the man and the women were Christians, dismissing communal angles that were linked to the video back in January as well.

Thus, it’s clear that the viral claim of Hindu women thrashing a Muslim man for misbehaving is patently false.